Gary Cully v Maxi Hughes - Tale of the Tape: Weight, height, reach, trainers, records & more

We analyse the credentials and statistics of domestic rivals Gary Cully v Maxi Hughes as they get set to square-off in a lightweight showdown in Monaco this weekend.

It may have taken a few years years to get here but finally Gary Cully and Maxi Hughes will square off in a crossroads fight this Saturday night!

The two lightweight contenders are at different stages of their careers but defeat for either would send them tumbling down the queue of world title contenders - an eighth loss could even spell the end for Hughes after 14 years as a professional.

The big question, who prevails?

Before we find out, let's take a look at the 'Tale of The Tape'...

Gary Cully v Maxi Hughes - Tale of the Tape

	Gary Cully	Maxi Hughes
Age:	28	34
Nickname:	'The Diva'	'Maximus'
Height:	6ft 2ins	5ft 7ins
Reach:	74ins	67ins
Weight:	Lightweight	Lightweight
Trainer:	Niall Barrett	Sean O'Hagan
Record:	18-1 (10 KOs)	27-7-2 (6 KOs)
Last Fight:	Won (UD) v Francesco Patera	Won (TKO) v Efstathios Antonas

Gary Cully - In Profile

Gary Cully is a standout in the lightweight division but not for reasons he would like.

The 28-year-old manages to compete at 9st 9lbs while standing at 6ft 2ins - his lanky, pale frame is covered in tattoos and his ring attire is a startling pink colour to match his ‘Diva’ moniker.

Cully now needs to emerge from the role of ‘character’ into a serious contender and a win against former world rate contender Maxi Hughes would be a step in the right direction.

His sole defeat at the hands of Jose Felix was a painful lesson and a reminder that fundamentals are everything and have to be sound before doing anything else in the ring.

Grinding out a split decision win against Reece Mould and a comfortable points win against Francesco Patera have been part of a rebuild that has seen the fighter steer clear of anybody with similar knockout power to Felix.

Cully’s currently possesses a top five ranking with the WBA, which he needs to protect, but one look above him sees fighters that operate on totally different levels to the Irishman.

Beating Hughes, and beating him well, will push the doubters back for the time being, but sooner or later he will have to step up to face those more fearsome opponents.

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Combination punching	Carries chin high
Not the finished article	Gives up too much ground
Body shots	Spends too much time on the ropes
Forces opponents into mistakes	Vulnerable to left hook

Maxi Hughes - In Profile

Maxi Hughes became one of British boxing’s renaissance men between 2020 and early in 2024.

Five successive wins helped bury a mixed past at domestic level and instead uncovered a fighter on the fringes of world class level.

His fight against George Kambosos Jr should have transformed him into a genuine contender and landed him a shot at a world title, but despite many believing the Brit had done enough to win the fight, the judges saw otherwise.

It was an absolute travesty; a robbery.

Such was the controversy surrounding his defeat, Golden Boy Promotions offered the Yorkshireman a shot a lightweight punching machine William Zepeda.

The Mexican is not one to leave his fights in the judges’ hands and battered Hughes for four rounds before he was pulled out.

A hard night’s work in a six-rounder against Efstathios Antonios (who was 7-2-2 at the time) has left questions marks over how long Hughes left has in the sport though.

‘Maximus’ will not walk away from a battle, however, and has the skillset and experience to cause Gary Cully all sorts of problems this weekend.

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Experience	Long career
Movement	Power
Reflexes	Vulnerable to body shots
Ring IQ	Pressure fighters