Maxi Hughes has opened up on what could be next for him.
The current IBO lightweight champion has options as he closes in on his next fight.
Hughes (25-5-2, 5 KOs) was ringside at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on Saturday to witness the dazzling display of Dalton Smith.
Smith swept aside Sam O’Maison inside six rounds, exclusively live on DAZN, to add the vacant British super-lightweight title to his collection of belts, which already includes the WBC International Silver and WBA Inter-Continental baubles.
And Hughes, who was impressed with the calmness of 25-year-old ‘Thunder’, caught up with Boxing Social’s Ayman Khan after the show to talk about his own career and the potential of fighting a star:
“I don’t want to get too excited and we’ll see what happens, but I’m concentrating on working towards the date that I’ve been given.”
Hughes, 32, has agreed terms to fight Kid Galahad, the former IBF featherweight world champion who was knocked out at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield last November by Spain’s Kiko Martinez.
If that fight materialises, it will take place on November 24 at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, exclusively live on DAZN, on a card headlined by WBA ‘regular’ featherweight champion Leigh Wood.
But the idea of a showdown with Ryan Garcia, the 23-year-old highly-rated 135-pound man who dropped and stopped former world champion Javier Fortuna last month to get back into action after a hiatus, refuses to go away.
Hughes added:
“Ryan speaks to me personally, so I know what he’s saying is coming from his mouth. He wants it and he’s got no other reason to message me and ask me to fight.
“I don’t want to get too excited, but we’ll see. I’ve told my team to try and concentrate on that Garcia fight, to try and get that one to happen, and if not, I’ll fight Kid Galahad.”
Galahad has not returned since that damaging defeat to Martinez but will be stepping up two weight divisions to meet Hughes.
And that’s something that the Rossington southpaw believes may be a step too far for the Sheffield stylist.
“I’ve got more momentum than him and I didn’t get sparked out in my last fight.
“He knows what that ceiling looks like. He’s coming up two weights, I’m a natural lightweight and I believe in myself.
“This is just another fight where somebody is standing in the way of something massive and I know I’ll get the job done and move on to bigger fights.”