Daniel "Maxi"Hughes (born 4 March 1990)^[3] is a Britishprofessional boxer. He has held theWorld Boxing Association (WBA) Continental lightweight title since 2024. He held theInternational Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight title from 2021–2023. He has also previously held theBritish lightweight title,World Boxing Council (WBC) International lightweight title, andCentral Area super-featherweight title. He has challenged, unsuccessfully, for theWorld Boxing Organisation (WBO) European lightweight title,WBC International super-featherweight and lightweight titles, and British super-featherweight title. He is currently #5 in the WBA world lightweight rankings.^[4]

Hughes made his professional debut on 17 September 2010, scoring a four-roundpoints decision (PTS) victory againstJohnny Greaves at theDoncaster Dome.^[5]

After compiling a record of 8–0–1 (0 KOs), he facedScott Cardle for the vacantCentral Arealightweight title on 20 April 2013 atWinter Gardens, Blackpool. In his first championship fight Hughes suffered the first defeat of his career, losing via PTS.^[6]

After four victories, Hughes was originally scheduled to faceJoseph Laryea for the vacant International Masterssuper-featherweight title on 12 September 2014 aticeSheffield. After Laryea refused to fight on the scheduled date, he was replaced with Kakhaber Avetisiani. Hughes emerged victorious, winning his first championship via PTS over ten rounds.^[7][8]

He next facedMartin Joseph Ward on 6 December 2014. In a bout that served as an eliminator for theBritish super-featherweight title, Hughes scored two knockdowns–which Ward claims were the result of an accidental clash of heads and a slip–en route to amajority draw (MD). Two judges scored the bout even at 95–95 and 94–94, while the third judge scored it 95–94 in favour of Ward.^[9] The pair had an immediate rematch on 11 April at theFirst Direct Arena inLeeds, with the vacantWBC International super-featherweight title on the line. In the fifth round Ward landed an uppercut which left Hughes with a "badly damaged nose", prompting hiscorner to call a halt to the contest at the end of the round, handing Hughes a fifth-round stoppage defeat viacorner retirement (RTD).^[10]

After three victories in non-title fights, Hughes and Ward–now the British super-featherweight champion–fought for a third time on 25 March 2017 at theManchester Arena. Hughes suffered the third defeat of his career, losing via twelve-roundunanimous decision (UD) with the judges' scorecards reading 118–111, 116–113 and 116–112.^[11]

In his next fight he defeated Ryan Moorhead via PTS, capturing the vacant Central Area super-featherweight title on 2 September 2017 at the Doncaster Dome.^[12]

Following atechnical knockout (TKO) victory against Cassius Connor in November 2017,^[13] Hughes made his second attempt at the British championship, facingSam Bowen for the vacant title on 14 April 2018 at theKing Power Stadium inLeicester. Hughes took a knee twice in the seventh round. At the beginning of the eighth, referee Victor Loughlin called a time out to allow the ringside doctor to examine an injury to Hughes' right eye. After the doctor determined Hughes' was unable to continue, Louglin called a halt to the contest, handing Hughes an eighth-round TKO loss.^[14]

He bounced back from defeat with a TKO victory against Kieron McLaren in July 2018,^[15] before suffering the fifth defeat of his career on 9 November 2019, losing via UD againstLiam Walsh in a bout for the vacantWBO European lightweight title at theYork Hall in London.^[16]

Three fights later he fought undefeated prospect Viktor Kotochigov for the WBC International lightweight title on 9 October 2020 at the Caesars Palace inDubai. In what media outlets described as an "upset", Hughes scored a knockdown in the third-round en route to a UD victory with the judges' scorecards reading 97–92, 96–93 and 95–94.^[17][18][19]

In his next fight he faced Paul Hyland Jr for the vacantBritish lightweight title on 19 March 2021 at the Whites Hotel inBolton. In what was considered by media outlets as a "controversial" decision, Hughes emerged victorious via eighth-round TKO. Hughes landed a punch to the body of Hyland, causing him to bend over in pain. After referee Mark Lyson initially ordered Hughes to a neutral corner, believing Hyland had touched the floor, Hyland turned his back and walked to the opposite corner. Lyson then corrected his mistake and signalled Hughes to resume the action, at which point, he ran across the ring and landed a right hand on Hyland with his back still turned. Hyland fell to the floor, prompting Lyson to begin a ten count. He made it back to his feet by the count of nine only for Lyson to call a halt to the contest, awarding Hughes the British title in his third attempt.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Following his British title victory, Hughes made his first attempt at a world championship; facing Jovanni Straffon for the lightly-regardedIBO lightweight title on 4 September at theHeadingley Rugby Stadium inLeeds. Serving as part of theundercard forJosh Warrington vs.Mauricio Lara, Hughes won a wide UD with two judges scoring the bout 120–117 while the third scored it 119–109.^[24]

On March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Hughes faced the undefeatedWilliam Zepeda in a WBA lightweight title eliminator. Zepeda won the fight via stoppage in four rounds.^[25][26]

On December 14, 2024, inMonte Carlo, Monaco, Hughes defeated an "outclassed"^[27]Gary Cully via unanimous decision to win the WBA Continental lightweight title, in what was described byEddie Hearn as a "world-class performance."^[28]

• Boxing record for Maxi Hughes fromBoxRec(registration required)

• Living people
• 1990 births
• English male boxers
• Boxers from Doncaster
• Sportspeople from Doncaster
• Super-featherweight boxers
• Lightweight boxers
• British Boxing Board of Control champions
• International Boxing Organization champions
• 21st-century English sportsmen

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