Underdog Hughes shines at Rotunda Rumble IV

Big-time boxing returned to the Caesars Bluewaters in Dubai for Rotunda Rumble IV on Friday night as Briton Maxi Hughes led the underdogs to shock wins on an action-packed night.

Hughes, who shocked Jono Carroll (21-18-2) in August last year, once again put up a wonderful display of ring-craft to defeat previously unbeaten Viktor Kotochigov (21-1-9) and be crowned the new WBC international lightweight champion.

In the main event, Hughes demonstrated his exciting talent with his unanimous decision victory over Kotochigov, having dropped the Kazakh with a huge uppercut in round three of their 10-round contest at the fan-free arena.

The 30-year-old looks to be in incredible form earning his elevation into the top 15 of the WBC after collecting their ‘international title’.

The quality D4G Promotions card, which as held in association with Round 10 Boxing and MTK Global, also saw Armenia’s superstar Hovhannes Bachkov make a sensational professional debut, while exciting Indian super welterweight Faizan Anwar and Dubai-based Egyptian fight Mohamad Salah Abdelghany also recorded impressive wins.

One of the most highly anticipated fights on the card was the super lightweight contest where Bachkov, a two-time World Championships bronze medallist who represented Armenia at the 2016 Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2017 European Championships, took on Venezuelan knockout specialist Samuel Gonzalez (22-7, 13 KOs).

Undeterred by Gonzalez’s reputation, Bachkov made every round count as he dominated his rival to overwhelm the judges who scored all eight rounds in his favour.

Bachkov, 27, who lost seven of his first eight fights after making his boxing debut in 2010 has steadily forged an impressive record of 52 wins from 76 fights and looks a very promising prospect in the pro ranks.

There was a shock in the opening fight of the night, as Abdelghany (4-2) defeated Blane Hyland (3-1) to hand the Liverpool fighter the first defeat of his professional career.

It was an action-packed fight, with serious leather being thrown throughout the six rounds, but Abdelghany was able to get the better of the exchanges.

The fight went all six rounds, but in the end it was Abdelghany who got the win, with the three judges handing it to him by unanimous decision. Hyland will have learned a lot from the contest, and will be back in the future.

Indian sensation Anwar continued the perfect start to his professional career, with a dominant 6-round points victory over the experienced Mendoza of the Philippines to register his fifth professional win.

Anwar (5-0, 4 KOs) has been known for his huge knockout power in his career so far, but on this occasion it was a cool, calm and collected performance, as he used his elite boxing skills to get the better of Mendoza (11-20, 5 KOs).

The constant fouling from Mendoza saw him get a point deducted during the closing stages, with Anwar taking the win by unanimous decision after a one-sided display.