Maxi Hughes caught out by fake news in pursuit of big fights

When Maxi Hughes heard that Floyd Schofield was out of his fight with Shakur Stevenson, he had no hesitation offering his services.

The problem was, Hughes had heard about Schofield’s “withdrawal” – Schofield has not withdrawn from the February 22 bout with Stevenson – via a fake account on X.

“It said that Floyd Schofield had pulled out of the Shakur Stevenson fight and Maxi Hughes was in the running,” said Hughes.

“And I thought, well, it’s the first I’ve heard about it, but yeah, I’ll have it. And I spoke to Lou [DiBella] and [Matchroom’s] Frank Smith and all that. ‘You know, is this real? Please tell me it’s real.’

“And they went, ‘No, sorry, mate – it’s a fake account.’ So I said, ‘Well, if he does pull out, phone me, because I’ll step in.’”

Hughes is 28-7-2 (6 KOs). The 34-year-old Yorkshire southpaw has won two on the bounce since he was stopped by William Zepeda last March. First, in September, Hughes stopped Efstathios Antonas in six rounds, and then he won every session against 18-1 (10 KOs) prospect Gary Cully.

Victory over Cully was considered a shock by many, but Hughes won every round in Monte Carlo, and did so in a fashion that Hughes knows people had not expected.

“No, especially after the six-round win that I had in September against Efstathios Antonas,” Hughes said.

“I think Cully and his team were banking on that being where we were. It was close [against Antonas], it was a hard fight and they thought I was done. They thought I was as good as my age. I knew I was good enough. I expected him to be a bit cagier in the first round. Last year, my stablemate Reece Mould fought him [losing a split decision to Cully]. And a lot, including us, obviously, thought Reece won that fight. But how we’ve seen Cully box as a 6ft 2ins southpaw, he boxes long and uses his lead hand as a bit of a wand, to try and put you off and keep you at distance. I expected that and I knew maybe after four rounds he would tire and he would run out of ideas and that’s where my experience would start taking over. But from the off, he didn’t do that and I was able to stamp my foot down earlier, and I caught him with almost like a bit of a screw-shot uppercut in the first round, which stunned him and visibly hurt him. And I thought from then, ‘That’s it. I’ve got you.’ But what Reece kept telling me all the way through training camp was, ‘Honestly, your feet are better than mine, and you won’t struggle to read him.’
“[Cully] threw a jab in the first 20 seconds, which I saw coming. In my head, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I see what Reece means now. I can read that.’”

It was easier than Hughes thought it might be, even though he was confident of victory. That was despite far from ideal preparations: He caught COVID in the build-up and had just two weeks of sparring.

With others in the gym preparing for fights, Hughes also did sessions in his garage, so he didn’t spread it around the gym.

Hughes is still promoted by Lou DiBella, and Matchroom has two options on him, provided he wins the first fight. 

Matchroom was said to be interested in matching him with 140lbs star Dalton Smith, but Hughes is a lightweight and would only consider a move up for a huge fight.

“I’ve got a good ranking with WBA, No. 5. No. 1 spot is vacant, and I think the No. 2 is Schofield [while No. 3 is Edwin De Los Santos and No. 4 is Andy Cruz],” added Hughes.

“So depending on what their plans are, they might be able to push me towards that. World title fight, or if not that, I just want the big fights now.”

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.