Watch: Maxi Hughes Knockout Paul Hyland Jr With Back Turned

Maxi Hughes donned the lightweight title with a knockout win over Paul Hyland Jr., but fans were confused to see the referee’s antics in the fight.

Hyland was unlucky to lose the title in a bizarre fashion. In the eighth round, referee Mark Lyson first gestured for a knockdown in Hughes’ favor then changed his mind and asked both boxers to resume at the center of the ring.

At this moment, Hyland had not seen that the referee had changed his decision and started walking towards his corner. Hughes made hay of the opportunity and packed a powerful punch while Hyland had his back turned to him.

Hyland got back up after a few seconds, but the referee decided that he was wobbled enough to be declared unfit to carry on. Both fighters had put up a sublime performance until the bizarre moment became the highlight of the British title fight.

🏆 The closing stages as @BOXERMAXIHUGHES became British lightweight champion.

📺 Main event coming up NEXT on IFL TV.

FREE LIVE STREAM ➡️ https://t.co/MFen2fSxTo#MTKFightNight #MaxiHughes #HughesHylandJnr pic.twitter.com/b1xClJ36Mk

— MTK Global Boxing (@MTKGlobal) March 19, 2021

Hughes had previously lost the British title twice at super-featherweight.

The Doncaster man was even considering calling time on his career not so long ago. However, he has since recorded a stunning win streak that includes major wins against Jono Carroll, Viktor Kotochigov and Jovanni Straffon.