George Kambosos's Controversial Majority Decision Win - Kambosos vs Hughes
In an electrifying Kambosos vs Hughes showdown on Saturday night, British southpaw Maxi Hughes faced a heartbreaking defeat in a majority decision against the former unified lightweight champion from Australia, George Kambosos Jr. This 12-round main event was aired on ESPN from the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Despite Hughes's strong efforts, in the Kambosos vs Hughes match, judges Josef Mason (117-111) and Gerald Ritter (115-113) awarded Kambosos victory in seven and nine rounds respectively. However, Judge David Sutherland deemed the match a draw with a score of 114-114. In the statistical count from CompuBox during the Kambosos vs Hughes bout, Hughes was credited with landing eight more punches overall than Kambosos (98-of-338 to 90-of-471), but Kambosos took the lead in power punches (65-of-204 to 53-of-158). Hughes, on the other hand, led in jabs (45-of-180 to 25-of-267). Post the Kambosos vs Hughes fight, Kambosos asserted his victory, stating his dominance over most rounds. This win ended Hughes's seven-fight winning streak and handed the IBO lightweight title to Kambosos. Kambosos now stands at number two in the IBF’s 135-pound ratings, which could see him fight Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos for the unclaimed championship, should Devin Haney decide to move up to the 140-pound category.
“We won the fight by many rounds,” Kambosos said. “That’s no discredit to Maxi Hughes. He had a couple good rounds, but a couple good rounds don’t win you the fight. We won a majority of the rounds.”This Kambosos vs Hughes match marked Kambosos's first win since his upset victory over Teofimo Lopez in November 2021. Although Kambosos had been defeated by the undisputed lightweight champion, Devin Haney, in 2022, he returned to the ring as the favorite against Hughes. In spite of Hughes being the underdog in seven of his past eight matches, he had a six-win streak before the Kambosos vs Hughes bout. After the match, Hughes expressed his disappointment, yet maintained respect for Kambosos's victory. Regardless of the outcome, Hughes demonstrated his worthiness to compete in the top league during the challenging fight.
“It was a bit of a kick in the bollocks, to be honest. Now I feel pretty stupid standing here in a cowboy hat,” he said with a smile. “But yeah, I’m absolutely devastated. Nobody knew who I was. I wasn’t supposed to be in George’s league. I came and showed, I should have had my hand raised. But I don’t want to take George’s moment. “My footwork, making him miss, making him pay, landed the cleaner shots. You know, I don’t want to sound like a sore loser, but when I watch it back, assess it — everybody here now knows who Maxi Hughes. Thank you, Oklahoma. “I thought I was doing enough, listening to instruction. I was just doing what I felt. I don’t know what the judges were seeing, but I did what I was asked. “I want to earn the dollars to provide for my family. Show everybody who Maxi Hughes is and show everybody how good I can be. And earn the money. That’s what I want to do, but we’ll see what’s next.”
