Re: Dalton Smith vs. Alberto Puello | DAZN - 24 October 2026
Posted: 24 Oct 2026, 06:25
'Matchroom exterminator' Hughes ready to kill off Visioli's title chances
Maxi Hughes believes that the naivety of youth will cost Giorgio Visioli his unbeaten record on Saturday night.
The lightweight pair will meet over 10 rounds on the undercard of Dalton Smith’s WBC junior welterweight title defense against Alberto Puello at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena, live on DAZN.
In March, the vastly experienced Hughes (29-9-2, 6 KOs) was stopped in five rounds by Pierce O’Leary after making a short-notice, ill-advised move to 140 pounds. However, over the past seven years, only world-level fighters like George Kambosos, William Zepeda and Bakhodur Usmanov have beaten him at lightweight.
Still, time and time again, domestic level fighters have tried to advance their own careers by adding the aging Hughes’ name to their record. The promising Visioli (11-0, 6 KOs) will be the latest to give it a go.
Hughes is a veteran of the sport and understands exactly why he has been hand-picked for this weekend’s job but it isn’t an unfamiliar position for the 36-year-old from Yorkshire.
“There's still plenty of life in me for an old dog and I have to ask the question; if you're a Matchroom fighter and you're sat opposite me, what have you done to upset Matchroom because you might as well call me “The Matchroom Exterminator,”” Hughes said at Thursday’s final press conference.
“You did it with Kid Galahad, you wanted rid of him so, 'Feed him to Maxi.' You did it with Gary Cully, 'Feed him to Maxi.' So, I don't know what Giorgio's done to upset [Matchroom]. I don’t know if that's the case and you've brought me here to get rid of him for you or if he's upset you but I'm feeling good.”
Visioli, 23, has been touted as a future star since the early stages of his career. He insists Hughes was selected from a list of potential opponents and a victory would mark his graduation from a talented prospect to a championship-level fighter.
Hughes doesn’t dispute that Visioli chose him but says he may have felt like he had no other choice.
“Well you've pressured him haven't you? You've done your job as a promotional company. You’ve hyped him up, you've promoted him well, you've done your job. It's his turn now, basically,” Hughes said when asked by Eddie Hearn if he thinks the matchmakers have made a mistake this weekend.
“I don't know if there's a bit of common knowledge now that I've heard that his team didn't want it but Giorgio's the one [who did].
“You put my name along with some other names, you're basically asking him, 'I dare you to fight Maxi.' Being the age that he is and the job that you've done, he’s gonna say 'Of course, I’m not scared I'll fight him' so I guess, being in the game as long as I have, that's why we're here now.”
Maxi Hughes believes that the naivety of youth will cost Giorgio Visioli his unbeaten record on Saturday night.
The lightweight pair will meet over 10 rounds on the undercard of Dalton Smith’s WBC junior welterweight title defense against Alberto Puello at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena, live on DAZN.
In March, the vastly experienced Hughes (29-9-2, 6 KOs) was stopped in five rounds by Pierce O’Leary after making a short-notice, ill-advised move to 140 pounds. However, over the past seven years, only world-level fighters like George Kambosos, William Zepeda and Bakhodur Usmanov have beaten him at lightweight.
Still, time and time again, domestic level fighters have tried to advance their own careers by adding the aging Hughes’ name to their record. The promising Visioli (11-0, 6 KOs) will be the latest to give it a go.
Hughes is a veteran of the sport and understands exactly why he has been hand-picked for this weekend’s job but it isn’t an unfamiliar position for the 36-year-old from Yorkshire.
“There's still plenty of life in me for an old dog and I have to ask the question; if you're a Matchroom fighter and you're sat opposite me, what have you done to upset Matchroom because you might as well call me “The Matchroom Exterminator,”” Hughes said at Thursday’s final press conference.
“You did it with Kid Galahad, you wanted rid of him so, 'Feed him to Maxi.' You did it with Gary Cully, 'Feed him to Maxi.' So, I don't know what Giorgio's done to upset [Matchroom]. I don’t know if that's the case and you've brought me here to get rid of him for you or if he's upset you but I'm feeling good.”
Visioli, 23, has been touted as a future star since the early stages of his career. He insists Hughes was selected from a list of potential opponents and a victory would mark his graduation from a talented prospect to a championship-level fighter.
Hughes doesn’t dispute that Visioli chose him but says he may have felt like he had no other choice.
“Well you've pressured him haven't you? You've done your job as a promotional company. You’ve hyped him up, you've promoted him well, you've done your job. It's his turn now, basically,” Hughes said when asked by Eddie Hearn if he thinks the matchmakers have made a mistake this weekend.
“I don't know if there's a bit of common knowledge now that I've heard that his team didn't want it but Giorgio's the one [who did].
“You put my name along with some other names, you're basically asking him, 'I dare you to fight Maxi.' Being the age that he is and the job that you've done, he’s gonna say 'Of course, I’m not scared I'll fight him' so I guess, being in the game as long as I have, that's why we're here now.”
