Maxi Hughes Shocks Jono Carroll on a Wednesday Card in Yorkshire

A TV studio in Northern England (Wakefield, Yorkshire) was the site of a behind-closed-doors boxing card today, Wednesday, Aug. 12. The card was designed to showcase boxers affiliated with MTK Global, the controversial sports marketing powerhouse headquartered in Marbella, Spain. The bouts were telecast in the UK on IFL TV and live-streamed (with numerous technical glitches) in the U.S. on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank.

The five-bout card had a little something for everyone who follows boxing in the British Isles. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland were represented among the 10 fighters on the card. In the aggregate, the 10 fighters were 111-12-4 heading in, but with only 24 knockouts between them.

The headliner was Dublin southpaw Jono Carroll. A fan-friendly fighter who makes up for his lack of power by throwing punches in bunches, and outside the ring one of boxing’s most engaging personalities, Carroll, whose birth name is Jonathan Beresford, was coming off the best win of his career, an 11^th-round stoppage of Scott Quigg. He brought an 18-1-1 record with his lone defeat coming in a failed bid to wrest the IBF 130-pound title from Tevin Farmer on Farmer’s turf in Philadelphia.

The bookmakers installed Carroll an 18/1 favorite over 30-year-old Yorkshireman Maxi Hughes. But Carroll forgot to bring his “A’ game. When the smoke cleared, Hughes was returned the winner by scores of 97-93 and 96-95 twice.

Carroll was gracious in defeat while saying that he just couldn’t find his rhythm. “I just knew deep down I had it, and tonight I managed to pull it off,” said the victorious Maxi Hughes who advanced his record to 21-5-2. “Jono really brought out the best in me.”

Other Bouts

In the co-feature, a 10-round contest in the junior welterweight division, Belfast southpaw Sean McComb won a unanimous decision over durable but limited Siar Ozgul. McComb did an ungainly version of the chicken dance on his ring walk and then advanced his record to 11-0 (5) with a workmanlike effort in a rather humdrum fight. Ozgul has lost five of his last six after opening his career 14-0. The scores were 99-92 and 97-93 twice.

In his first fight in 13 months, rangy Glasgow junior welterweight Craig MacIntyre (12-0-1, 5 KOs) broke down Ishmael Ellis (11-3) before stopping him in the fifth round. Ellis was taking a step up in class after building his ledger against professional losers.

Welterweight Sahir Iqbal, from the same British-Pakistani hive in Bolton that produced Amir Khan, improved to 8-0 (1) with an 8-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Maredudd Thomas (11-1). Cardiff’s Thomas, named for a 10^th century Welsh king, came on strong in the final round, but it was too late to salvage a draw. The judges had it 78-74, 78-75, and 77-76.

Junior welterweight Pierce O’Leary, a 20-year-old Dubliner who won nine tourneys as an amateur, advanced to 5-0 (2) with a fourth-round stoppage of late sub Jacob Quinn (4-1). Quinn went to a knee after taking a big left hook and when he arose on unsteady legs, the referee stopped it.

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