Have gloves will travel. That has long been the way for British lightweight Maxi Hughes. He’s come a long way from the small halls to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

On Saturday, Hughes, rated at  No. 9 by The Ring at lightweight, will face unbeaten William Zepeda inside the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

“I remember when I turned pro, I didn’t let my dreams get that big, I kept it simple, I only ever wanted the British title, that was the only real dream that I had,” Hughes (26-6-2, 5 knockouts) told The Ring. “Most of my career I was chasing that and I got it on my third attempt, three years ago.

“At that point more opportunities were coming. I said, ‘It would be great to fight in America.’ And I managed to cross that off the list last year in Oklahoma and now to headline in Las Vegas on a Golden Boy show is phenomenal where I come from. I am making sure I am enjoying the journey, not sulking in training cause I’m tired going, ‘It’s hard, I can’t wait to get it out the way.’ Get my work done and train hard and make sure I do let it soak in and enjoy the moment.”

Things could easily have played out very differently for the 33-year-old southpaw. When he lost to Liam Walsh (UD 10) in November 2019, he contemplated retirement.

“Mentally I was like, ‘That’s it, I’m just not good enough, I’m just a nearly man, I can’t even win one of these domestic fights,'” he said. “But something inside wouldn’t let me call it a day. It was like, ‘Keep trying, you’re young enough’ Don’t live with that regret of quitting too soon while I was still feeling good. I just didn’t give up on my dream. I was mentally strong and thought, ‘I’m going to stick at it.’ And thank God I did, the position I’m in now.

“At that time I had a full-time job, I was a painter on new build housing sites. I was up early, out the house between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. didn’t get in till tea time, a bite to eat and out to the gym. It was tough. It’s not easy now because the fights are harder but getting to training is easier because I can train in the day and be more rested.

“I stuck at it through hard times, while I was at work, young family as well. It was tough but I’m getting them rewards now. It’s almost like that song Leigh Wood has for his ring entrance, ‘Something inside so strong.’ I put it down to mental strength and a lot of resilience.”

He also credits Sean O’Hagan and former two-time featherweight titlist Josh Warrington for helping his reach where he is today.

“I started working with Josh and his dad, Sean O’Hagan, at the very beginning of 2019,” he recalled. “I’d had about 15-months out the ring after I’d lost to Sam Bowen (TKO 8). Sean had always been around and I’d sparred Josh for a long time before that and Sean had helped in a lot of the corners when I was with Jimmy Harrington and Dave Hulley.

“I was very familiar with Sean and I had actually moved closer to where they trained and they trained at a later time, so everything sort of fell into place. I started training full-time with Sean and Josh at the beginning of 2019. I had a comeback fight, a 10-rounder in the summer of that year and I was straight into the Liam Walsh fight.

“I had a good chat with Sean after the Liam Walsh fight and he said, ‘I’ve not been able to able to implement everything I want to implement. It’s going to take longer working together to get that.’ Since that Liam Walsh fight we’ve been on a fantastic run. I put it down to Sean knowing how to get the best out of me, his coaching style suits me, his personality suits me, we get on really well and are well suited to working with each other.”

Hughes reeled off seven consecutive wins, many as underdog, besting the likes of Jono Carroll (UD 10), finally got over the hump and won the British title stopping Paul Hyland (TKO 8), tough Mexican Jovanni Straffon (UD 12) and former featherweight titlist Kid Galahad (MD 12).

Those wins earned him a fight with former Ring and undisputed lightweight kingpin George Kambosos Jr., in an IBF title eliminator. Although Hughes saw his winning streak come to an end, many believed he did enough to prevail. Hughes and his team were determined that wasn’t the end of the matter.

“My last fight I didn’t get the win on my record but every body knows I beat George Kambosos but nobody before that fight gave me a chance,” he said. “They thought I was jumping up too many levels and was going to get exposed but I wasn’t the one who got exposed. It turns out it was the judges that got exposed that night for some bad decision making.

Hughes (left) nails Jovanni Straffon. Photo by Mark Robinson/ Matchroom Boxing

“I’m really thankful, we made our argument to the IBF and it paid off. I could have gone it was just a bad decision but enough people made enough noise, especially the power of social media really came into it’s own. There’s still people now every time George posts something on social media attacking him saying, ‘You lost to Maxi.’ It’s six-months ago but it’s stuck in peoples mind. I kept on at the IBF and I’m grateful they did something about it. They could have just ignored it and I’d have been back in the U.K. possibly on small hall shows trying to rebuild myself. I’m straight back into another fight.”

The upcoming fight with Zepeda will be an IBF and WBA eliminator and is steadfast in his belief that he can again cause the upset.

“He’s a good fighter, we’ve been ordered to fight each other because we’re the highest two contenders in the WBA and IBF,” he stated. “That’s what level we’re at. We respect William Zepeda and we’ve shown him that respect in our preparation. We’re preparing for the hardest fight possible. As always we go into that fight confident. I know what I’m capable of. I still keep bringing these big performances out and what makes them better is nobody ever gives me a chance.

“I just believe I’m bringing something he hasn’t seen before. He’s fought some good guys but when I look record for record, his two biggest names are Jojo Diaz and Rene Alvarado, they’re two former world champions but I feel even with Liam Walsh, he doesn’t get enough credit, his only loss was to Gervonta Davis and of all people I’ve boxed, I really rate Liam highly. Kid Galahad, George Kambosos. I fought a similar guy to Zepeda in Jovanni Straffon, a southpaw, Mexican, come forward, big-puncher. I’m well prepared mentally, physically for what Zepeda’s going to bring.

“All I hope is that in this fight the judges are going to be fair. After what happened in Oklahoma, they broke my heart. I don’t want the same story again. All I ask is the judges are fair and they score the fight as it should be done.”

Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs), rated at No. 5 by The Ring at lightweight, won his first 20 fights in his native Mexico before signing with Golden Boy Promotions.

Since then, the 27-year-old southpaw punching-machine has continued to impress, notably bludgeoning previously unbeaten Hector Tanajara (RTD 6) into defeat, he gained quality rounds with seasoned veteran Rene Alvarado (UD 10), further legitimized himself scoring a dominant win over former 130-pound titlist Joseph Diaz (UD 12) and, most recently, beat up on tough veteran Mercito Gesta (KO 6).

Zepeda-Hughes, plus undercard bouts, will be broadcast on DAZN at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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