Daniel "Maxi" Hughes (born 4 March 1990) is a British professional boxer. He held the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight title from 2021 to 2023. He has also held the British lightweight title.
Professional career Hughes made his professional debut on 17 September 2010, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory against Johnny Greaves at the Doncaster Dome.
After compiling a record of 8–0–1 (0 KOs), he faced Scott Cardle for the vacant Central Area lightweight title on 20 April 2013 at Winter Gardens, Blackpool. In his first championship fight Hughes suffered the first defeat of his career, losing via PTS.
After four victories, Hughes was originally scheduled to face Joseph Laryea for the vacant International Masters super-featherweight title on 12 September 2014 at iceSheffield. 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.
He next faced Martin Joseph Ward on 6 December 2014. In a bout that served as an eliminator for the British 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 a majority 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. The pair had an immediate rematch on 11 April at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, with the vacant WBC International super-featherweight title on the line. In the fifth round Ward landed an uppercut which left Hughes with a "badly damaged nose", prompting his corner to call a halt to the contest at the end of the round, handing Hughes a fifth-round stoppage defeat via corner retirement (RTD).
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 the Manchester Arena. Hughes suffered the third defeat of his career, losing via twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) with the judges' scorecards reading 118–111, 116–113 and 116–112.
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.
Following a technical knockout (TKO) victory against Cassius Connor in November 2017, Hughes made his second attempt at the British championship, facing Sam Bowen for the vacant title on 14 April 2018 at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. 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.
He bounced back from defeat with a TKO victory against Kieron McLaren in July 2018, before suffering the fifth defeat of his career on 9 November 2019, losing via UD against Liam Walsh in a bout for the vacant WBO European lightweight title at the York Hall in London.
Three fights later he fought undefeated prospect Viktor Kotochigov for the WBC International lightweight title on 9 October 2020 at the Caesars Palace in Dubai. 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.
In his next fight he faced Paul Hyland Jr for the vacant British lightweight title on 19 March 2021 at the Whites Hotel in Bolton. 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.
Following his British title victory, Hughes made his first attempt at a world championship; facing Jovanni Straffon for the lightly-regarded IBO lightweight title on 4 September at the Headingley Rugby Stadium in Leeds. Serving as part of the undercard for Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara, Hughes won a wide UD with two judges scoring the bout 120–117 while the third scored it 119–109.
On March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Hughes faced the undefeated William Zepeda in a WBA lightweight title eliminator. Zepeda won the fight via stoppage in four rounds.
On 14 December 2024, in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Hughes defeated Gary Cully via unanimous decision to win the WBA Continental lightweight title.
On 23 May 2025, Hughes defeated Archie Sharp by unanimous decision at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster to win the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title.
On 12 December 2025 at Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, he lost via majority decision to Bakhodur Usmonov.
Hughes faced Pierce O'Leary for the vacant IBO super-lightweight title at 3Arena in Dublin on 14 March 2026, having taken the fight on two weeks notice when Mark Chamberlain withdrew due to illness. He lost when he retired on his stool at the end of the fifth round.
He is scheduled to face Giorgio Visioli at Utilita Arena in Sheffield on 24 October 2026.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes40LossPierce O'LearyRTD5 (12), 14 Mar 202639LossBakhodur UsmonovMD1212 Dec 202538WinArchie SharpUD1023 May 202537WinGary CullyUD1014 Dec 202436Win27–7–2Efstathios AntonasTKO6 (6), 27 Sep 202435Loss26–7–2William ZepedaRTD4 (12), 16 Mar 202434Loss26–6–2George Kambosos JrMD1222 Jul 202333Win26–5–2Kid Galahad1224 Sep 202232Win25–5–2Ryan WalshUD1226 Mar 202231Win24–5–2Jovanni StraffonUD124 Sep 202130Win23–5–2Paul Hyland JrTKO8 (12), 19 Mar 202129Win22–5–2Viktor KotochigovUD109 Oct 202028Win21–5–2Jono CarrollUD1012 Aug 202027Win20–5–2Kris PilkingtonPTS422 Feb 202026Loss19–5–2Liam WalshUD109 Nov 201925Win19–4–2Kieron McLarenTKO4 (10), 6 Jul 201924Loss18–4–2Sam BowenTKO8 (12), 14 Apr 201823Win18–3–2Cassius Connor4 (10), 25 Nov 201722Win17–3–2Ryan MoorheadPTS102 Sep 201721Loss16–3–2Martin Joseph Ward1225 Mar 201720Win16–2–2Fonz AlexanderPTS616 Apr 201619Win15–2–2James Fyers106 Feb 201618Win14–2–2Abdon CesarPTS623 Oct 201517Loss13–2–2Martin Joseph Ward5 (10), 11 Apr 201516Draw13–1–2Martin Joseph Ward106 Dec 201415Win13–1–1Kakha AvetisianiPTS1012 Sep 201414Win12–1–1Qasim HussainTKO2 (4), 9 May 201413Win11–1–1Imre Nagy3 (8), 7 Feb 201412Win10–1–1Andy Harris5 (6), 13 Dec 201311Win9–1–1Michael MooneyPTS64 Oct 201310Loss8–1–1Scott CardlePTS1020 Apr 20139Win8–0–1Andrejs PodusovsPTS630 Nov 20128Win7–0–1Ibrar RiyazPTS628 Sep 20127Win6–0–1Ivan GodorPTS68 Jun 20126Draw5–0–1Ronnie Clark42 Mar 20125Win5–0Bheki MoyoPTS410 Jul 20114Win4–0Youssef al-HamidiPTS44 Mar 20113Win3–0Graham FearnPTS422 Jan 20112Win2–0Kristian LaightPTS43 Dec 20101Win1–0Johnny Greaves417 Sep 2010
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