Corruption and controversy continue to be rife in boxing, as was likely proven last Saturday when Australian fighter George Kambosos Jr. faced British IBO champion Maxi Hughes. Kambosos scraped by with a majority decision win, but the end result was met with huge skepticism due to Hughes’ performance.
Their match took place on the 22nd of July at the Firelake Arena in Oklahoma. The scorecards were in favor of George Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KO’s) with scores of 117-111, 115-113, and 114-114. Though the last score would have made sense, the rest of the scores didn’t seem to accurately predict the closeness of the match.
Throughout the fight, it seemed like Maxi Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KO’s) had edged most of the rounds with his pinpoint boxing. Fighting as a southpaw, Hughes put up an excellent boxing performance that perfectly encapsulated the “hit and don’t get hit” principle of pure boxing.
Though Kambosos Jr. looked strong and fit heading into the match, his usual gameplan of pressuring opponents to have more of an impact on the inside did not pan out well for the Australian. Failing to cut off the ring properly, Maxi Hughes and his southpaw style posed too many problems for Kambosos.
This was illustrated as much by CompuBox’s stats, which showed that Maxi Hughes landed more shots despite throwing fewer:
While CompuBox is not a perfectly precise system, it did somewhat accurately reflect the course of the match. George Kambosos Jr. failed to make a real impact and missed more shots while throwing more punches, whereas Maxi Hughes was clearly more effective throughout the fight.
Regardless of the punch stats, the match was close with Maxi Hughes giving plenty of reasons to warrant a victory, while Kambosos’ inefficiency would normally suggest there were fewer reasons for his arm to be held up as the winner.
George Kambosos Jr. won the IBO title from Maxi Hughes, who had first won the title in 2021. Though not acknowledged by all sanctioning bodies, the IBO is recognized by some institutions as a legitimate sanctioning body along with its world titles.
The event further showcased up-and-coming American lightweight Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KO’s), who faced Belgian contender Francesco Patera (28-4, 10 KO’s). Patera, a top 50 lightweight according to BoxRec, suffered the fourth loss of his career after being defeated by Davis by unanimous decision.
Keyshawn Davis may have been disappointed to not get a knockout or stoppage against an opponent similar to the one he faced last (Anthony Yigit), but his level of opposition did seem to befit his status as a prospect and his knockdown over Patera proved he can be a threat to any lightweight.
However, the American lightweight can only go so far with his current level of competition and will need better challenges if he wants to grow. The likes of Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KO’s) and Isaac Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs) would be considered a step-up for Keyshawn Davis at this point and help dictate how far he has gotten, and can get, at this point.
With Davis having just completed his 9th fight, he now looks ready for his next step in the division against opponents who are similarly seen as potential future world title challengers or champions.
