MAXI HUGHES was left aggrieved at the outcome of his fight against George Kambosos last summer in Oklahoma. The Boxing News post-fight Verdict described Hughes as having been “robbed” and it was without doubt one of the worst decisions of 2023. The controversy, however, did bring a reward for the Yorkshireman.

Earlier this week he spoke to Boxing News about his next fight Stateside, how he coped with the loss to Kambosos and his thoughts on the Aussie’s upcoming bout against Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Interview by Shaun Brown

BN: How’s your start to 2024 been?

MH: It’s not been too bad. Getting the [William Zepeda] fight news early doors is pretty decent so I should get two fights this year which is better than last year.

BN: Is the Zepeda fight one you hoped for?

MH: In September I got an email from the IBF saying, “We’ve moved you up the rankings.” In the email they said they took into consideration what happened against Kambosos. They explained that they had the fight rescored by an independent panel of judges and it was a different outcome. They were very careful with their words, but I know what they’re saying. They explained what was gonna happen next. The highest available contenders will be ordered to fight for the vacant belt which is George and Lomachenko. The next two in line was me and Isaac Cruz. But one of my mates who knows Cruz’s advisor/manager Sean Gibbons spoke to him and he said, “I don’t think we’re gonna go down IBF route with Isaac because of the (second weigh-in) 10-pound rule.” I think he likes to go up quite heavy after the scales so he weren’t interested in that. The next available person was Zepeda. I’d spoke with my team and [promoter] Lou DiBella and he’d already reached out to Golden Boy and they said if the IBF order that it’s a fight we’ll take. Light discussions started before Christmas with Golden Boy then it were Christmas holidays and nobody really spoke and it were not last week but the week before that they got the confirmation from the IBF that they’re ordering me to fight Zepeda and both teams have got two weeks to get the contracts sorted and signed. The IBF want to see a signed contract between me and Zepeda so they can do the full process and sanction us as a fight.

BN: Golden Boy are quite high on Zepeda; he’s unbeaten in 29 fights. Have you seen much of him?

MH: Seen plenty of him. Never knew if I’d fight him or not. I’ve seen him just because I watch boxing and I’m a boxing fan. He is a typical Mexican. Comes forward, throws a lot of shots, quite relentless. What you see is what you get with him.

BN: Are you expecting the fight with Zepeda to happen in Spring or before then?

MH: March 16 they’ve pencilled in. We’ve got to get the official deal over the line. We’re waiting for the fight contract to review and sign. Both teams want it so there should be no reason why that can’t happen. I’ve fully got my head on that fight and am fully concentrated and focused on Zepeda and March 16.

BN: What about your fight against Kambosos. Have you watched that? 

MH: A few times. I must say it did hurt me seeing the announcement that he’s fighting Lomachenko and I’m thinking, You b*****d, that should be me! It should be me fighting one of the most elite guys of this era. It is what it is. I’ve got to go again against Zepeda. Get past him and I’ll get my chance to fight Lomachenko. Apparently, because they’re getting ordered to fight for the vacant belt, their next fight has to be against the mandatory. I’ll take care of Zepeda and then my next fight will be against Lomachenko.

BN: What did you think of Kambosos when you fought him?

MH: I were confident in my ability. How the fight came about was I was out of contract with Matchroom, and I knew I was number nine with the IBF, George were number eight. I looked at the top 10 and thought, Right, in my opinion George is the easiest one out of them. None of them are easy but George was the easiest. I knew he were coming off the [Devin] Haney losses, he were looking for a fight, and so that’s why I reached out to Lou DiBella and said, “I know you look after George. I’m out of contract, he’s looking for a fight, I’m looking for a fight, what about me and George fight in an IBF eliminator? We’re both up there in the rankings, can you make it happen?” Within an hour Lou got back to me and I signed with Lou, and I got that fight done. I knew I had George’s number. I went out there and proved it to everyone except them judges.

BN: How long did it take you get over the result?

MH: I don’t think you ever do fully. Like I say, it still hurts seeing it. That probably tells me I’m not quite over it. It’s probably something I’ll have to live with and every time I think about it I’ll get a little bit angry; blood pressure might go up, heart rate might go up a bit.

BN: Apart from the result how was your experience in Oklahoma?

MH: I really enjoyed it. First time fighting in America. It were a little bit different to fighting here but the people in Oklahoma were absolutely lovely. Not a lot happens there, and they had this big-time boxing event. A lot of the people from the town were going and knew about it. We were there two weeks beforehand [and] every time we went to a shop or every time we opened our mouth and people realised we weren’t from America they were like, “Where are you from? Why are you here?” The people were so welcoming and lovely. The whole experience were good. They live slightly different to us. I’m looking forward to Las Vegas. I’ve never been. You wouldn’t imagine it being [the] same country though.

BN: Do you think Lomachenko will beat Kambosos then?

MH: Unless something’s happened to Lomachenko in the year that he’s been out, or Father Time’s caught up with him, then no. If it has [then] George has got a better chance. But I just can’t see Lomachenko losing to George unless it goes the distance and because it’s in Australia, we see one of them decisions like the last one. What I do like is people haven’t forgot about the decision and every time there’s something about George, you look in the comments and you’re guaranteed to always see comments like, “George didn’t beat Maxi,” or, “Maxi got robbed.” That’s how bad it were. It’s been six months now and people haven’t forgot it.

BN: Whatever happens in the next 12-24 months, would you still like a rematch with him?

MH: If I get paid well absolutely, yeah. Again, I thought with it being in Oklahoma and three American judges being neutral… it just shows you… maybe we’ll have to have a car park scrap. No judges, no referees.