Maxi Hughes owes his kids some quality time

On the Terri Harper-Natalie Zimmermann undercard, a disgruntled Hughes will be trading blows with Londoner Archie Sharp at Doncaster Rovers' stadium.

The South Yorkshireman is a former IBO world champion and has had to put himself, his wife and two kids through the mangle to get back into a position for another crack at a big title.

“Archie Sharp is a good kid, but there’s been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hours in the gym and away from home," said Maxi, formerly of Rossington, Doncaster, now living in Haxey.

"I saw my children crying night after night when I had to leave them and go to the gym for hours again. Archie Sharp is going to have to pay for that on Friday.

“The fire that I’ve got in me right now, you wouldn’t believe it. I’ve held the IBO world title, and my goal has always been to get one of the big four.

"I’ve been very close to that goal before and that’s why I need to win that WBC Silver title here on Friday night - it puts me right in the mix for a world title shot," said the 35-year-old lightweight.

Sharp, however, has four kids of his own and aims to take out his frustration on Hughes.

Headliner Terri Harper says she, too has a burning ambition. She intends to successfully defend her WBO World Lightweight belt against the German and then move on to her big domestic rival, Caroline Dubois.

“I’ve got the fire in me, the self-belief, the love for boxing. I'm hungry again and if I don’t get a statement win here on Friday night, I’ll be disappointed.

“I don’t know what it is with Caroline Dubois or what her problem is but I honestly can’t wait to get paid to get in that girl’s face.

"First I’ve got to get past Natalie Zimmerman here on Friday night, then if she wants it next she can have it.”

Steel City trained Ebonie Jones will use the GBM Sports bill to beat Tysie Gallagher and take the British and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight belts back to Darnall.

“Winning these titles will open up a lot of doors for me, so I’ve been training very, very hard," she said.

"Holding these belts is a pathway to bigger things. I’m standing in the way of Tysie getting those big opportunities, and I’m going to seize them for myself.

"No predictions, except I am confident my hand gets raised.”

Luton's Gallagher is having none of that: “I want to become world champion and Ebonie Jones is standing in the way of that. You’re going to see a great clinical performance and me winning in ten rounds or less.”

It all adds up to a compelling card, says Sheffield promoter Izzy Asif.

"Terri Harper is defending in her home city in its famous stadium. Maxi Hughes, another hometown hero, is taking on the very dangerous Archie Sharp, with both of them looking for that world title opportunity. Tysie Gallagher and Ebonie Jones, lifelong rivals are meeting again with three belts on the line. And that’s only the top three fights on the card!

"This card is stacked with 50-50 fights, and even just as a boxing fan, I’m excited for Friday night.

"It’s going to be an amazing event for the thousands in attendance and the masses watching live worldwide on DAZN."

CARD includes: Terri Harper (Doncaster) 15 2 2 v Natalie Zimmermann (Germany) 13 0 0 lightweight Maxi Hughes (Doncaster) 28 7 2 v Archie Sharp (Kent) 25 1 0 light Tysie Gallagher (Luton) 9 2 0 v Ebonie Jones (Sheffield/Portsmouth) 6 0 1 super bantam Ellie Hellewell (Rotherham) 6 0 0 v Stevi Levy (Norfolk) 13 3 0 feather Reece Mould (Doncaster) 20 3 0 v Lewis Sylvester (Hull) 15 1 0 light Jimmy Joe Flint (Doncaster) 15 2 2 v Haithem Laamouz (Malta) 20 2 0 super light Taz Nadeem 5 0 0 (Rotherham) v Bahadur Karami 4 29 4 (Manchester/Iran) super middle Edward Hardy 3 0 0 (Doncaster) v Darwing Martinez (Nicaragua) 8 30 2 feather Joe Hayden 17 0 0 (Conisbrough) v Lewis Booth (Doncaster) 16 1 0 super welter Amaar Akbar 8 0 0 (Batley) v Jake Smith (Doncaster) 1 30 2 super welter Jamie Mellers 7 1 0 (Auckley) v Cameron Kaihau, (Warmsworth) 9 1 0 super welter