Maxi Hughes KO8 Paul Hyland Jr.... Elsewhere on MTK Fight Night in Bolton, England, Maxi Hughes (23-5-2, 5 KOs) achieved a lifelong dream, defeating Paul Hyland Jr. (20-3, 7 KOs) to win the vacant British lightweight title. Hughes kept up his superb run during lockdown, having now beaten Jono Carroll, Viktor Kotochigov and Hyland in the space of seven months. Both men fought evenly in the opening stages, but Hughes' body shots soon proved to be the difference. One of those body shots crippled Hyland in round eight, and after it originally appeared that he would go down, he remained up and referee Mark Lyson [at first signalled Hyland to a neutral corner but quickly] ordered the fighters to box on. Hyland continued to walk away with his back turned, and Hughes landed a legal shot that sent the Belfast man to the canvas. He was deemed unable to fight by the count of ten, with Hughes claiming the win. Hughes said: “Some people might call it luck, but I call it years of hard work paying off. I took my opportunity when it came and now look at this. For anybody out there, keep being true to your dreams. I had a goal to win the British title, and now I want to keep on achieving. I knew I could get the wins on the big stage, and this means the world to me.” source: mtk global