Matchroom star Giorgio Visioli targeting breakthrough 2027 with Maxi Hughes victory set to "open new doors"
One of Eddie Hearn's hottest boxing prospects Giorgio Visioli is targeting a breakthrough 2027 as he looks to establish himself as a legitimate title contender at 135lbs.
The supremely-talented Briton has enjoyed a spectacular start to his career within the paid ranks, producing six blistering stoppages to help build an unbeaten 11-0 record.
His credentials will be put to their sternest test to date next month however, when he faces the wily and dogged Maxi Hughes in a fight that could catapult the 23-year-old onto the European stage.
Despite attempts by promoter Eddie Hearn to secure a crack at British and Commonwealth lightweight champion Louie O'Doherty, it's former IBO champion Hughes who the youngster will be trading leather with in just a few weeks time.
Many have argued the fight is coming too early in the career of the current British champion, although Visioli doesn't agree.
"It was excitement," he answered when asked by the Ring Magazine when Hughes' name was put forward as a potential next opponent.
"I was offered three opponents, and the other two -- obviously, I'm not disrespecting them -- but it's just that I couldn't get up for them.
"I always give 100% in training, but Maxi was offered first out of all of them and I went, 'Yeah, 100%.' The others were like an option if I didn't want Maxi, but I just went straight to Maxi. No hesitation, just went.
This one, if I win it, pushes me kind of past British level, because I think he's past that level. So I'm very pleased with it, and I think it's a big reward in the new year if I get the job done properly -- it opens new doors.
- Giorgio Visioli (The Ring Magazine)
Hughes has had the eighth and ninth pro defeats of his career inflicted upon him in his last two outings although the results of those fights alone don't paint the full picture.
Last December, a narrow points decision defeat at the hands of Bakhodur Usmanov came less than 24 hours after close friend and long-term trainer Sean O'Hagan was taken seriously ill, whilst three months later he jumped up to super-lightweight to tackle the naturally much bigger world champion Pierce O'Leary, who stopped him in the fifth round.
"His last two fights, I wouldn't take much from that because, you know, he had two weeks notice, went up a weight, so on and so on," Visioli went on to say.
"Me and Mark Tibbs, my coach, we look at the fights before that fight, because he had a full camp.
"OK, they're two years ago, but Maxi's still in there. He’s got all the tricks. He knows everything, and if he’s 36, I don't think he's past it at all."
Visioli vs Hughes is taking place on Saturday 24th october, 2026, as part of the bumper Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello WBC super-lightweight dust-up at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
