Kambosos Beats Hughes In An Unconvincing Majority Decision

November 15, 2023
2 years

George Kambosos Jr. secured an unconvincing majority-decision win over Maxi Hughes. 

Kambosos was looking to bounce back from his consecutive losses to Devin Haney by getting a statement win. However, the Australian’s performance in an IBF title eliminator left a lot to be desired. 

In the early stages of the fight, Hughes made an impression with a left hook and a body shot, showing the Australian that he meant business. The Brit also landed a straight left in what was a positive start.

Hughes’ left was landing once again, as the southpaw found openings in the second. However, Kambosos caught Hughes with a big right hand in the second in what was a close round. 

The third was very competitive, as Hughes’ left to the body made an impression, while Kambosos responded with a right hand.

As the fight reached the fifth round, Kambosos’ cut over his right eye gushed forth with blood following sustained pressure from his opponent. 

However, in the second half of the bout, Kambosos found more success. A clash of heads did help, though, as Hughes suffered a cut above his eye as a result. 

And that is when the tide turned. A left hand got through to hit Hughes, who staggered to the ropes in the seventh round.

However, Hughes responded smartly, boxing and moving as things appeared even at the ninth.

Kambosos suffered a warning in the tenth, as the Australian used his forearm in the clinch. Hughes responded with a left uppercut, followed by another in the eleventh. 

With the fight in the balance, Hughes needed a knockout to win which ultimately never came as Kambosos won on the cards: 117-111, 115-113 and 114-114.

However, the controversial scorecard of 117-111 by judge Josef Mason raised many question marks as the crowd booed Kambosos as a result. 

The win keeps Kambosos as the number 2 in the IBF rankings. If Devin Haney were to move up to 140 pounds and vacate, then Kambosos would be in line to face Gustavo Lemos for the IBF title. 

Kambosos’ Comments 

“We won the fight, we won the fight by many rounds, but that’s no discredit to Maxi Hughes. He had a couple good rounds, but a couple good rounds doesn’t win you a fight.

“We won the majority of rounds, and look, that’s the reason we chose him, it was a hard test. We wanted to take a test like him, a champion, a guy who’s been on a big win streak.

“He’s rated all over the sanctioning bodies. This was a hard challenge, and big credit to Maxi Hughes. I got through this fight. I believe the majority of the rounds, I won. I move to the next step.

“Styles make fights, and we’re happy to get this great win tonight. Shakur Stevenson is a great fighter. Vasiliy Lomachenko, we were meant to do it (before), and I believe that’s the next fight to be done.

“Look, this is for the IBF eliminator, so our next step is the IBF world title. But I’ll get that IBF title, and I know he’ll bounce back. He’s a tough challenger!

“This guy, because he wasn’t as known in the world, don’t discredit him, he’s a tough challenger. It was an honor to share the ring with him, and yes, if the opportunity’s there, we’ll give him a rematch,” Kambosos

Co-Main Event

In chief support, Keyshawn Davis dominated Francesco Patera to win by unanimous decision. 

The 24-year-old landed more punches in a bout where he outboxed his opponent. Davis was too strong and skilful as he remained undefeated with his record now standing at 9-0.

And it all came to a head in the eight round. Davis sent Patera to the canvas with a solid-right hand.

Although Davis failed to get the stoppage, it was another sign of his growing reputation. The scorecards read as follows: 100-89, 100-89, 99-90.

Comments

“I give myself, like, a C-plus, B-minus, but we got the win, that’s all that matters. I can’t really be too hard on myself for not stopping these guys, because they’ve got way more experience than me. But I’m beating these guys every round by unanimous decision.

“So I just gotta take my hat off for just doing the little things like that, sticking to my game plan, listening to my coach, and just having fun in there,” Davis

Full Results

George Kambosos Jr. def. Maxi Hughes via a majority decision: 114-114, 115-113, 117-111

Keyshawn Davis def. Francesco Patera via a unanimous-decision: 99-90, 100-89, 100-89

Giovani Santillan def. Erick Bone via a unanimous decision: 97-93, 97-92, 98-92

Jeremiah Milton def. Willie Harvey via a fourth-round TKO

Troy Isley def. Antonio Todd via a unanimous decision: 79-73, 79-73, 79-73

Hemi Ahio def. Amron Sands via a sixth-round TKO

Joe Goodall def. Stephan Shaw via a sixth-round TKO

Kambosos may have come out victorious, but his performances will have to improve if he wants to target the big names once again.

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