Maxi Hughes W12 Archie Sharp... At the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England, former IBO lightweight title holder Maxi Hughes (29-7-2) defeated Archie Sharp by unanimous decision over twelve rounds. It was a fight with alternating dominance by both fighters, but it was Hughes who did enough to convince the three judges that he deserved the victory. One of them saw him win by a wide margin, bolstered by the fact that Sharp threw very few punches during the fight. In his last fight prior to this, Sharp (25-2) suffered the first defeat of his pro career, losing a unanimous decision to Ryan Garner at junior lightweight last July. The South London fighter opted to return to lightweight for this new opportunity, but was outclassed by Hughes, who was fighting to remain relevant on the world level.

 

Hughes, age 35, has been rebuilding his career after suffering consecutive losses to George Kambosos Jr. and William Zepeda in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The loss to Kambosos was viewed by many as an unjust decision by the judges. Hughes has now won three in a row, including a unanimous decision victory over Gary Cully in December that shows he still has plenty to offer at 135 pounds.