Fight Recap: Kambosos Jr. Gets Gift From Judges Over Hughes

If Maxi Hughes had the punching power of Naoya Inoue, George Kambosos Jr. wouldn’t have made it out of the fifth round.

Hughes of Yorkshire, England (26-6-2, 5 KOs) took a page out of the Devin Haney playbook and boxed rings around former lightweight king George Kambosos Jr. of Sydney, Australia (21-2, 10 KOs) in Kambosos’ ring return after two losses to Haney in Australia.

The British veteran controlled the ring, controlled the distance, and prevented Kambosos Jr. from getting into position by placing his lead foot outside.

But Kambosos Jr. gets the nod from two of three judges and won a majority decision on the scorecards over Hughes in a majority decision at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Scorecards read 117-111, 115-113, and 114-114.

Maxi Hughes controlled the fight against George Kambosos Jr, and the Shawnee, Oklahoma knew it. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Sitting ringside, the shock on the face of Shakur Stevenson spoke for the rest of the crowd in Shawnee, who were convinced Hughes had won. NY Fights scored it 116-112 for Hughes, and only because we accounted for a little A-side favoritism.

“We won the right by many rounds, but that’s no discredit to Maxi Hughes,” said Kambosos Jr. “He had a couple of good rounds, but a couple of rounds doesn’t win the fight. This was a hard challenge, big credit to Maxi Hughes. This is a move toward the next step.”

Hughes was deflated after the loss, with good reason. “I’m absolutely devastated. I wasn’t supposed to be in George’s league. I should have had my belt coming home.” While Hughes said he didn’t want to take away from Kambosos Jr.’s win, he felt he had the better footwork, making him miss, making him pay, landing the cleaner shots” won him the fight.

Boxing Clinic From Hughes Goes Uncredited

Maxi Hughes controlled the ring and the distance throughout his fight with George Kambosos Jr. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

From the opening bell, Hughes buzzed around Kambosos Jr. like a mosquito, darting in to bite and evading any attempt to swat him down. Hughes doesn’t rely on power, but his shots can sting, like the hard body shot he landed on Kambosos Jr. in the third round.

As Hughes kept boxing and moving, Kambosos Jr. couldn’t find the distance. When he got to Hughes, he would be hit with a counterpunch. Kambosos Jr. suffered a cut from a punch over the right eye in the fifth round. In the following round, Hughes also sustained a cut from a headbutt over the left eye. Neither cut determined the fight’s outcome thanks to good work in the corners.

Kambosos Jr. won individual rounds but looked to be behind on the cards. Trainer Don House urged Kambosos Jr. to let his hands go after the tenth round. Kambosos had only landed 19% of his punches.

Kambosos Jr. stepped up the work rate, and Hughes didn’t quite match his intensity or output. But even if Kambosos Jr. wins the final rounds, Hughes still wins the fight.

Champions Sound Off On The Scores

Shakur Stevenson did not attempt to hide his reaction after hearing the judges’ scores giving the win to George Kambosos Jr. Photo: Mikey Williams for Top Rank.

After the fight, Stevenson told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna, “I thought it was a robbery. I thought Maxi boxed well, and he was the better fighter. I think that the judges should be held to a higher criteria. They need a lot more (training) to become a judge. They’re not paying attention to the fights. It’s messing up boxing.”

ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame champion Timothy Bradley Jr. expressed his outrage.

“Fighters need a union or something. These judges need to be sought out. Trust me, we go through too much, training, getting to these positions, only to get it stolen like that. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

Kambosos Jr. pushed back on the criticism. “He done his movement and he wasn’t engaging, but that’s how he fights. Styles make fights. We got this great win tonight. He’s a tough challenger, it was an honor to share the ring with him.”

Hughes heard the fans ringside cheer for him after the fight. “They know … Now everybody here knows who Maxi Hughes is. Thank you, Oklahoma, thank you for cheering me on.”

Hughes said he didn’t want to sound like a sore loser and would watch the fight and assess it. “I thought was doing enough, listening to instruction. I don’t know what the judges were saying.” Hughes says he’ll look for future opportunities to earn enough to provide for his family “and show who Maxi Hughes is and know how good I can be.”

Who’s Next For Kambosos Jr.?

Buoyed by his win and seemingly forgetting how narrow it was, Kambosos Jr. said he wanted to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko. It would be a big money fight in Australia, and Lomachenko has previously indicated he’d travel there. It’s hard to see Kambosos Jr. winning with his narrow escape from Hughes.

Asked whether he’d fight Kambosos Jr., Shakur Stevenson didn’t hold back.

“I want to fight the best of the best. As of now, Kambosos is not on my level. I want to fight the Lomachenkos, the Devin Haneys. If I don’t got no choice, I’ll beat him up too. Let’s prove to the world now I’m ready for the top dogs in the division.”

🌶️🌶️🌶️@ShakurStevenson x @GeorgeKambosos pic.twitter.com/pYru0B6uib

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 23, 2023

After the bout, Kambosos Jr. approached Stevenson to discuss a future fight, claiming he’d knock him out. Credit Stevenson for his restraint. He smiled and let Kambosos Jr. run his mouth, calmly responding that he’d win, and if a fight was ordered, he’d win.

Davis Dominates, Defeats Patera

Keyshawn Davis knocked down Francesco Patera in the eighth round, winning a wide decision. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Lightweight U.S. Olympic silver medal standout Keyshawn Davis of Norfolk (9-0, 6 KOs) faced a tougher opponent than the scores reflected in former European champion Francesco Patera of Belgium (28-4, 10 KOs).  Davis easily outlanded Patera by 162 punches to 61 in ten rounds, with scorecards reading 100-89 X 2 and 99-90.

Davis landed a beautiful hard right check hook to Patera in round eight, but the gritty Belgian made it through the round and to the bell.

Davis said his stomach was bothering him during the bout. “I give myself a C-plus, a B minus. We got the win, that’s all that matters,” said Davis. “I can’t really be surprised I’m not stopping these guys. They have way more experience. I’m beating them every round. I’m sticking to my game plan and listening to my coaches.”

Davis apologized to his fans at a watch party back home in Norfolk “for messing up your FanDuels.” The Businessman promised he’d be back in the ring in two months.

Santillan Sizzles Down Stretch Against Bone  

Giovani Santillan outlanded Erick Bone in their ten-round bout. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Welterweight contender Giovani Santillan of San Diego (31-0, 16 KOs) went into battle against veteran Erick Bone of Ecuador (27-7, 14 KOs) and emerged with a win after an entertaining, evenhanded battle.

Giovani Santillan lands the right hand against Erick Bone, his best weapon, on Saturday in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Bone’s recent fights were all rebuilding efforts in Ecuador after a loss to Sergey Lipinets in 2018. Bone came prepared using speed and precise punching with a laser-like right hand to challenge Santillan. Santillan had success with the left hook, but Bone would shut it down with lefts to the body, forcing Santillan to protect himself. Santillan used the right hook himself in the final three rounds to pull ahead in an even fight. Scorecards read 98-92, 97-93, and 97-92.

Isley Gets Decision Over Todd

Troy Isley went eight rounds for the first time against Antonio Todd. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

U.S. Olympian Troy Isley of Alexandria, Virginia (9-0, 4 KOs) faced a spirited effort by Antonio Todd of Atlanta (14-8, 8 KOs) going eight rounds for a decision in the middleweight division. Scores were 79-73 on all three cards. Todd buzzed Isley at least twice but didn’t have the firepower to finish him off.

Three Stoppages In Heavyweight Fight Trio

Joe Goodall knocked down Stephan Shaw on the way to an upset sixth-round TKO victory. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

American heavyweight Stephan Shaw of St. Louis (18-2, 13 KOs) hoped to bounce back from his first loss. Instead, Joe Goodall of Brisbane, Australia (10-1-1, 9 KOs)scored the upset TKO win. Goodall got the upper hand, landing two hard shots over the guard of Shaw to drop him for the first time. Goodall unloaded as Shaw struggled to defend himself, and the fight was finally waved off.

Australian Hemi Ahio (R) joined fellow Southern Hemisphere fighter George Kambosos Jr. in getting a win by sixth-round TKO over Amron Sands at FireLake Arena on July 22, 2023, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images

Hemi Ahio of Auckland, New Zealand (21-1, 15 KOs) also finished off his opponent Amron Sands of Orlando (12-3, 9 KOs) in the sixth round, pinning Sands to the corner with a hard right hand and finished with a flurry causing another referee stoppage.

Jeremiah Milton of Tulsa (10-0, 7 KOs) got the stoppage win against Willie Harvey of Charlotte (4-3-2, 3 KOs), who didn’t come out for the fifth round after taking hard shots for several rounds by Milton. Harvey was there to be hit, and Milton did what was expected of him.