Dublin gamble ends painfully for South Yorkshire title-hunter Maxi Hughes
Maxi Hughes had planned to spend Saturday night with his feet up on the sofa at home, watching the boxing on TV with a pack of Guinness by his side.
But two weeks earlier, opportunity had come knocking - a vacant slot for a world title had opened up on the show he'd planned to view as a fight fan.
Maxi from Haxey, near Doncaster, got himself as fit as possible and took the chance - after ensuring the wages were worth a quick training camp and a trip as the underdog to Ireland at a weight higher than he is used to.
It backfired.
His chance to win the vacant IBO World super lightweight title ended after a relentless battering at the hands of Dubliner Pierce O'Leary, aptly nicknamed 'Big Bang', who had the backing of a huge home crowd at the 3Arena.
Worse still, massive bruising to the Doncaster man's right eye meant a trip to the hospital to ensure no lasting damage had been done.
He posted: "Absolutely gutted. Thought was doing ok but this is boxing, two weeks notice at the weight above. What can you do?
"Just in the hospital waiting for a scan on my orbital bone. Nothing hurting as much as my pride."
At 36 he had not only lost to a man 10 years his junior, but had never really been in with a chance of meeting fire with fire.
O'Leary moved to 19-0-0 while veteran Hughes's CV shows 29-9-2.
Maxi had shown himself to be a warrior, but he had also put his health on the line in what was always going to be an uphill battle against a naturally bigger foe.
He had taken the fight with a fortnight's notice after Mark Chamberlain withdrew from the contest through illness.
Hughes had more experience under his belt and had faced better opponents, but in the end it didn't count for much and his dream to become a two-weight IBO champion was over.
O'Leary's constant pressure had been Hatton-esque.
Maxi's trainer Sean O’Hagan had little alternative but to pull him out of the bout after five painful rounds of the scheduled 12-rounder.
The underdog sportingly held up the winner's glove, a horrible, hard night in the ring now to be followed by a trip to hospital.
Promoter Frank Warren, who took Sheffield's Naseem Hamed to Dublin to fight Manuel Medina in 1996 for the WBO featherweight title, was equally thrilled with his latest victory.
He said he now wanted to take O’Leary to Croke Park, adding: “He’s done everyone in Ireland and Dublin proud.”