George Kambosos Wins an Unpopular Decision over Maxi Hughes in Oklahoma

George Kambosos Wins an Unpopular Decision over Maxi Hughes in Oklahoma

Top Rank was at the Firelake Casino in Shawnee, Oklahoma, tonight with a card that aired on ESPN and ESPN+. In an odd development considering the locale, the main event pit a boxer from Australia against a boxer from England. Belgium and New Zealand were represented on the undercard.

The Australian, George Kambosos Jr, got back on the winning track after back-to-back losses to Devin Haney, but he did nothing to improve his stock. In the eyes of ESPN commentator Mark Kriegel, Kamposos’ opponent, Maxi Hughes, had the best of the milling in nine of the 12 rounds. His score carried no sway and  two of the judges saw a different fight, awarding Kambosos nine (?) and seven rounds respectively. The third judge had it even (114-114) on the “10-point must” system.

The fight was expected to go the distance, but wasn’t expected to be as monotonous. Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) did more feinting than punching. There wasn’t an indelible moment. Maxi Hughes, a Yorkshireman whose record declined to 25-6-2 (5), returns to England with his head held high.

The bout was framed as an IBF lightweight title eliminator. The winner was presumably headed to a date with Argentina’s undefeated Gustavo Lemos. If Kambosos gets that assignment, the fight will be a hard sell based on his poor showing tonight.

Co-Feature

Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis vowed to be the first fighter to stop Belgium’s veteran lightweight Francesco Patera. Davis didn’t achieve that goal, but he did win virtually every round while improving his record to 9-0 (6). Moreover, he scored a knockdown against a fighter who purportedly had never been knocked down.  It came in round eight when Davis landed a textbook counter right.

The judges had it 99-90 and 100-89 twice. Patera, who declined to 28-4, was never intimidated and had a few good moments, but Davis’s faster hands gave him a big advantage.

Other Bouts

In the final fight on ESPN’s subscription platform. San Diego welterweight Giovani Santillan (31-0, 16) won a unanimous 10-round decision over Ecuador’s Erik Bone. The scores were 98-92, 97-92, and 97-93, tallies that were too wide in the eyes of the announcing crew and the CompuBox guy.

Santillan would relish a match with the winner of Saturday’s mega-fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Despite his impressive record, he did nothing to indicate that he would be competitive if such a match materialized. Bone, who has been matched tough every time he fought in the U.S., falls to 27-7.

Tulsa heavyweight Jeremiah Milton advanced to 10-0 (7) with a TKO over North Carolina’s lumpy Willie Harvey (4-3-2). Harvey, a barber by trade with an interesting haircut of his own, was never off his feet, but absorbed a lot of punishment in the fourth stanza and the fight was halted with him on his stool. Milton, who was profiled in these pages as his pro career was just getting started, keeps on winning, but without the wow factor.

Middleweight Troy Isley, a Tokyo Olympian and former two-time national amateur champion, improved to 10-0 (4) with a unanimous decision over Atlanta’s lanky Antonio Todd (14-8). The scores were 79-73 across the board.

In a fight that moved at a glacial pace, New Zealand import Hemi Ahio improved to 21-1 (16 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of ponderous, 300-pound Amron Sands (12-3). Ahio pinned Sands in his corner and unleashed a barrage – 15 unanswered punches by our count. They were delivered at close range and none were especially hurtful, but the accumulation led the referee to waive it off.

There was an upset in the lid-lifter. Joe Goodall, a former Australian Rules football player, improved to 10-1-1 (9) with a seventh-round stoppage of Stephen Shaw. It was the second straight setback for St. Louis campaigner Shaw who opened his pro career 18-0.

Shaw had never been on the deck before, but the Aussie put him on the canvas twice in the seventh round. A short, left hook knocked him on the seat of his pants and then Goodall went for the kill, knocking Shaw down with a sweeping combination. Shaw made it to his feet, but his corner pulled him out with only five seconds remaining in the round.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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