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George Kambosos Jr. Edges Maxi Hughes
Former unified and lineal lightweight world champion George
Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KOs) secured a narrow 12-round
majority decision victory against an elusive Maxi Hughes
(26-6-2, 5 KOs) Saturday evening at FireLake Arena in
Shawnee, Oklahoma, earning a mandatory shot at the IBF
crown.
Kambosos returned to the ring with renewed vigor after
back-to-back undisputed showdowns in his native Australia.
But Hughes, an English southpaw coming off a seven-fight win
streak, nullified Kambosos’ aggression with distance and
intelligent footwork.
In the fifth round Hughes used his quick feet to set up left
hands, one of which opened up a cut above Kambosos’ right
eye. A clash of heads in the sixth round caused a cut above
Hughes’ left eye.
The later rounds saw both fighters continuing to set up
single shots with feints and jabs. Hughes had more success
with his counter left hand, while Kambosos, with a sense of
urgency, tried to pick up the pace in the final round.
Kambosos takes home his mandatory spot with scores of
114-114, 117-111, and 115-113.
“We won the fight by many rounds. That’s no discredit to
Maxi Hughes. He had a couple good rounds. But a couple good
rounds don’t win you the fight. We won a majority of the
rounds. That’s the reason we chose him. He was a hard test.
A lot of guys coming off losses wouldn’t want to take a test
like him. This was a hard challenge," Kambosos said. “I need
to get grittier. He was moving a lot and wasn’t engaging a
lot, but that’s the way he fights. We knew he was going to
be a tough challenge, but styles make fights. I’ve got to be
more gritty with these guys.”
Hughes said, “I’m absolutely devastated. Nobody thought I
was supposed to be in George’s league. Tonight, I came and I
showed that I should have had my hand raised. I don’t want
to take George’s moment.
“I used my footwork. I made him miss and pay. I landed the
cleaner shots. I don’t want to sound like a sore loser, and
I will watch it and assess it, but everyone here now knows
who Maxi Hughes is.”
Davis Dominates Patera
Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KOs) passed the stiffest test of his
career in beating Belgian contender Francesco Patera (28-4,
10 KOs) via 10-round unanimous decision by scores of 100-89
2x and 99-90. The 24-year-old native of Norfolk, Virginia,
took his time to analyze Patera, feinting and cutting the
ring before landing short, crisp combos when he had Patera
on the ropes.
In rounds five and six, Davis decreased his punching output,
and Patera attempted to claw his way into the fight. But in
round eight, he dropped Patera with a sharp right hand.
Davis remained calm and outboxed Patera into the final
rounds.
Davis said, “I give myself a C+ or B-. But like I said, we
got the win, and that’s all that matters. I can’t really be
too hard on myself if I don’t stop these guys because they
have way more experience than me. But, at the end of the
day, I am beating them unanimously in every round. I just
got to take my hat off for just doing the little things like
that, sticking to my game plan, listening to my coaching and
just having fun in there."
In other results:
Welterweight: Southpaw contender Giovani Santillan (31-0, 16
KOs) won a hard-earned decision over tough Ecuadorian Erick
Bone (27-7, 14 KOs). In the early rounds, the San Diego
native controlled the action with his jab before suddenly
sneaking in quick bombs. An undeterred Bone, however, forced
Santillan to earn the later rounds by answering back with
several straight right hands. Scores: 97-92, 98-92 and
97-93.
Heavyweight: Oklahoma-born prospect Jeremiah Milton (10-0, 7
KOs) notched a fourth-round TKO win against Willie Harvey
(4-3-2, 3 KOs). Milton used every bit of his five-inch
height advantage to land hooks and right hands from the
outside. The sustained punishment wore Harvey down,
obligating his corner to halt the bout before the fifth.
Middleweight: U.S. Olympian Troy Isley (10-0, 4 KOs) tallied
a workmanlike eight-round unanimous decision against Antonio
Todd (14-9, 8 KOs). Isley outlanded Todd in nearly every
exchange, but he struggled at times with Todd’s shoulder
roll defense and counter punches. Scores: 79-73 3x.
Heavyweight: New Zealand-born standout Hemi Ahio (21-1, 16
KOs) defeated Amron Sands (12-3, 9 KOs) via sixth-round TKO.
Both fought at close range for the entire fight, but Ahio’s
shorter punches landed harder and more often on the
300-pound Sands. After an unanswered flurry, Ahio forced
referee Chris Flores to stop the contest. Time of stoppage:
2:12.
Heavyweight: Australia's Joe Goodall (10-1-1, 9 KOs) scored
an upset TKO win against Stephan Shaw (18-2, 13 KOs). After
Goodall floored Shaw twice in the sixth round, Shaw’s corner
threw in the towel. Time of stoppage: 2:55.
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