Jono Carroll v Maxi Hughes Recap
In the main event in ESPN’s UK themed telecast, Jono “King Kong” Carroll (18-2-1, 4 KO’s) suffered a surprising upset loss to Maxi “Maximus” Hughes (21-5-2, 4 KO’s) by way of unanimous decision in a duel of southpaws. In all honesty, this was a complete snooze-fest of a prizefight.
Carroll entered the bout mentally riding high coming in fresh off his eleventh round stoppage of Scott Quigg (35-3-2, 26 KO’s). Seeking to maintain that momentum, it was a point of his to try to score the knockout of Hughes. This obviously did not happen.
To begin, both fighters came out cautious and respectfully behind their jabs. And those first few rounds, minus the audience, were frightfully quiet and uneventful. King Kong more or less pressed the action but he certainly did not establish a blistering pace!
The two combatants tossed and traded an abundance of jabs and straight lefts. During the opening periods, the thing that really set Carroll apart was his more consistent dedication to touching the body. This general and generic action persisted until the sixth round.
With the coming of the sixth, Hughes began finding a regular home for his jab and even landed the hardest punch of the fight to that point in the battle. In fact, he would go on to land a number of eye-catching blows during the final stretch of the fight.
In hindsight, those standout punches are what likely edged the bout in his favor. None of the shots slowed or hurt Carroll however. The humdrum action persisted in this manner until the conclusion of the fight. Once the punching throwing was at an end, the judges somewhat surprisingly ruled against the named boxer, Carroll, and awarded the win to Maxi Hughes.
It is uncertain what either man will do next.
By: Bakari Simpson
