Exclusive: Title Hopeful Hughes Determined to Let His Fists Do the Talking

Maxi Hughes is determined to let his fists do the talking during Saturday’s pivotal bout against Ireland’s Gary Cully, with a win set to propel the lightweight back into the world title conversation next year.

One of the country’s most talented and experienced operators in the 135 lb division, Hughes has often been accused of failing to hype up his skills during pre-fight media conferences. 

This placid demeanour, some promoters claim, has seen the Doncaster fighter miss out on opportunities to press his claim for a shot at the WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO belts after previously holding the lesser regarded IBO strap.

But, speaking ahead of his clash with Cully in Monte Carlo, Hughes exclusively told SportsBoom that he is convinced raw ability, not a big mouth, remains the best route back into the big league.

“Loads of people say I should be louder but, to be honest, that’s just not me,” Hughes said. 

“I don’t want to be fake because you can see through someone who is. I’d rather stay true to who I am and be more real."

“I know I can do this and that, in the end, will shine through. I firmly believe that.”

In an era when many of his contemporaries are ready to hype themselves up or use fabricated social media spats to raise their profiles, Hughes prefers the kind of approach favoured by purists. 

Indeed, the only time he has vociferously called-out a rival was when, three months ago, he tried to goad former George Kambosos Jr into a rematch following a victory over Efstathios Antonas in Sheffield. 

Hughes’ decision to publicly question Kambosos’ heart and desire was so out of character, it raised eyebrows among many of those at ringside.

Hughes and Kambosos, who remains the only man to conquer Teofimo Lopez, beat Hughes in hugely controversial circumstances when they met in the USA a year-and-a-half ago. 

Now aged 34, Hughes labelled the majority decision Kambosos secured after 12 hard-fought rounds a “robbery” and he has been chasing a return with the Australian ever since. Before facing Kambosos, at the Firelake Arena, Shawnee, Hughes had registered a notable victory over Kid Galahad, the former IBF featherweight champion, and captured the British title by defeating Paul Hyland Jr.

Dispatching Cully on a show being staged by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, which DAZN have selected for live broadcast, would propel Hughes (26-7-2) up the rankings of every major sanctioning body. 

From Naas and six years Hughes’ junior, Cully has lost only one of his 19 professional outings so far with 10 of those victories coming inside the distance. 

BOUNCED BACK IN STYLE

He won gold at the 2013 European Youth Championships and was identified as the best young boxer at that event. Cully bounced back from a loss to Jose Felix Jr of Mexico by edging past Reece Mould, who like Hughes hails from South Yorkshire, in Dublin 13 months ago. Cully then added Francesco Patera to his list of scalps.

When Cully was preparing to face Felix Jr, Hughes was still coming to terms with a bizarre clash against William Zepeda. 

Confusion over his visa status saw Hughes deported from the States before their meeting in Las Vegas, which saw him forced to return to the UK until the issue was resolved. Zepeda prevailed and is now WBC interim champion after recently overcoming Tevin Farmer on a Riyadh Season card.

“I know who I am and I am what I am,” added Hughes. “I’m just going to be real and true to myself. I don’t want to pretend that I’m something I’m not because everyone who knows me will see through that straight away."

“I’m still as ambitious as ever. In fact, what happened against him (Kambosos) and then all the nonsense around the Zepeda fight has only made me even more hungry and ambitious.

“That win (over Antonas) will look better and better as time goes by, because he was a really tough lad and if he sticks with it then I can see him causing a lot of people a lot of problems.”