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Kid Galahad left the ring in disbelief.
The former IBF featherweight champion and his team couldn’t have been more disappointed with the announced scores, as Maxi Hughes escaped their twelve-round lightweight bout with a majority decision win. Terry O’Connor (114-114) had the contest evenly contested, overturned by Marcos Morales (116-111) and Giulio Piras (114-113) in favor of Hughes in Saturday’s DAZN main event from Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England .
Hughes defended his little-regarded IBO lightweight title with victory.
Galahad had not fought since his shock knockout loss to former IBF junior featherweight champion Kiko Martinez to end his IBF featherweight title reign last November 13 in his hometown of Sheffield. . The now-former champion made the audacious decision to move up two weight classes to face Hughes, who was riding a six-fight win streak into Saturday’s impromptu main event.
Galahad, 32, physically seemed to handle the extra weight well, looking full at the heaviest 134.7 pounds of his career during Friday’s weigh-ins. His skills seemed razor-sharp at first, pulling his jab out of a southpaw stance as Hughes struggled to find his offensive rhythm.
Galahad switched between orthodox and southpaw during the third round, enjoying success from both sides. Hughes, fighting out of his usual southpaw stance throughout the fight, continued to fight behind a high guard, offering constant upper-body movement but rarely getting a chance to let go of his hands. Hughes landed a straight left late in the round, providing minimal returns.
The action was slow in rounds four and five, with both boxers kicking their respective jabs. Yorkshire’s Hughes picked up the pace in round six, landing a straight left hand. Galahad remained poised, shaking off the blow and boxing smartly from an orthodox stance. Referee Marcus McDonnell grew tired of having to break multiple rivets and warned Galahad to refrain from tying whenever Hughes worked his way inside.
Hughes found a home for his jab in the second half of the fight. Galahad had less success with legal scoring shots, receiving a final warning for pushing Hughes back with the palm of his right hand when the two tangled during an exchange. Hughes closed out the round with a jab and a left over Galahad’s guard.
The pace threatened to intensify at the start of the ninth round. Hughes dropped his hands at the urgency of his corner, to which Galahad responded with more spikes. Hughes adapted to the approach by offering more movement each time Galahad looked to pin down the 32-year-old southpaw. Hughes’ jab set up straight left hands that found their mark upstairs, before moving out of harm’s way as Galahad looked to counter.
Galahad exhausted the patience of referee McDonnell, who deducted a point from the former champion early in the tenth round for leading with his head. The infraction forced Galahad to calm down and box cleanly, as Hughes was unable to capitalize on what could have been a two-point round at a crucial point in the fight.
Hughes connected with a right uppercut early in round eleven, coming as both boxers kicked and fell short with their jabs. Galahad stood in the center of the ring, firing the jab at him but unable to land anything behind him. Hughes caught Galahad with a left hand to the body about a minute into the round. A clinch and clash of heads left Hughes with a cut over his left eye, opting to stick and move in the last minute of the frame.
Both main event participants battled with a sense of urgency in the twelfth and final round. Hughes was constantly on the move while Galahad was out hunting. Hughes often fell short of his punches as Galahad avoided the tackle and responded with his jab and the occasional right hand. Neither boxer was able to land anything of importance or substance down the stretch, as the two embraced at the final bell as they sweated the final decision.
Galahad suffers his second loss in a row as he falls to 28-3 (17KOs). He has yet to win since claiming the vacant IBF featherweight title in an 11th-round knockout of James ‘Jazza’ Dickens in their rematch on him last August 7 in Brentwood, Essex. He was in control for more than four rounds in his title defense against Martinez before getting knocked out late in the fifth round and finishing in the sixth round of their final fight at featherweight.
Hughes moves up to 26-5-2 (5KOs) as he earns his seventh straight win. The fight came after he was once asked to stay prepared for a potential showdown with undefeated lightweight contender Ryan Garcia. The call made to the Briton was more of a backup plan, before Hughes moved on to the fight that could be made.
Following Saturday’s win, Hughes and Matchroom Boxing president Eddie Hearn indicated a strong desire to pursue a lucrative fight in the US.
Hughes-Galahad was elevated to the main event after secondary WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood was forced to pull out of a planned title defense against Maurcio ‘Bronco’ Lara due to a bicep injury sustained during the training camp.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
