Upset-minded Maxi Hughes edged past previously unbeaten Viktor Kotochigov winning a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision at Caesars Palace in Dubai on Friday night.

Hughes, who shocked Jono Carroll in August, got off to a strong start shaking Kotochigov in the second with a right uppercut. That was a warning sign for the Kazakh, who ate a few more shots before walking onto the same shot midway through the third that deposited him on his backside. To his credit, he gathered himself and was able to cover up and survive the round.

HUGE KNOCKDOWN ‼️

A massive round three for @BOXERMAXIHUGHES as he drops Viktor Kotochigov with a wonderful shot.

Can Kotochigov recover ❓

📺 Tune in RIGHT NOW on @ESPN+ and @IFLTV ➡️ https://t.co/gLB3Ob69MX#RotundaRumble4 #TeamMTKGlobal pic.twitter.com/S7H6tRqYJ0

— MTK Global 🌍 (@MTKGlobal) October 9, 2020

Hughes (22-5-2, 4 KOs) hurt Kotochigov again in the fourth round and continued to have the better of things over the next couple of rounds.

Slowly but surely Kotochigov (12-1, 5 KOs) worked his way back into the fight with a few solid rounds but Hughes was a step ahead due to the excellent start and was awarded a unanimous decision on the scorecards 96-93, 97-92 and 95-94.

The win brought the 30-year-old the WBC International lightweight title which will likely see him earn bigger fights going forward.

Undercard:

Former amateur standout Hovhannes Bachkov made a successful professional debut outpointing tough Samuel Gonzalez (22-7, 13 KOs) over eight-rounds. The Armenian who claimed bronze at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships was awarded the decision 80-72 on all three scorecards in junior welterweight action.

Indian junior welterweight Faizan Anwar (5-0, 4 KOs) went the distance for the first time when he outboxed JR Mendoza (11-20, 5 KOs) over six-rounds to claim a wide unanimous decision 60-53,

60-53, 60-53.

Bantamweight Mohamad Salah Abdelghany (4-2, 0 KOs) upset previously unbeaten Blane Hyland (3-1, 0 KOs) over six-rounds on all three judges’ scorecards to claim a unanimous decision 58-57, 58-56 and 58-56.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter@AnsonWainwright