Pierce O’Leary vs. Maxi Hughes: Who has the edge heading into their fight?

The undefeated Pierce O’Leary was set to face Mark Chamberlain all along on Saturday night, but when the latter suffered an illness earlier this month, it created an opening for Maxi Hughes to be swapped in.

Now, O’Leary and Hughes will clash in chief support to the Jazza Dickens vs. Anthony Cacace headliner at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, and live on DAZN. The O’Leary-Hughes tilt will be contested for the vacant IBO 140-pound title.

O’Leary (18-0, 10 KOs) enters the scrap coming off an eighth-round KO of Braian Esequiel Ronner in December, while Hughes (29-8-2, 6 KOs) suffered a majority decision loss to Bakhodur Usmonov that same month.

Will O’Leary prove to be levels above the battle-tested Hughes? Or will ‘Maximus’ have his hand raised in a resurgent victory? DAZN News examines who has the edge in this super lightweight tilt.

Boxing Styles

Pierce O’Leary stands with a wide stance, sniping toward finding a home with the jab. Methodical in the manner he stalks forward, O’Leary works cautious angles as he looks to unload straight shots or cranking uppercuts.

His style will meet that of Maxi Hughes who operates with more of a bounce off the front foot as he targets the body and aims for greater damage upstairs.

The fact that Hughes can be susceptible to being walked down could be an issue for the Brit as O’Leary is bound to apply measured pressure.

Edge: O’Leary

Power

Ten of O’Leary’s 18 victories have come by the way of knockout, showing he has more than some sting when it comes to his punching power.

That the Irishman recorded his last win by KO will likely only add to his confidence in punching with pop and letting his hands go against a Hughes who could be put away.

Edge: O’Leary

Mental Warfare

Hughes has shared the ring with the likes of William Zepeda, George Kambosos Jr., Kid Galahad, Jono Carroll and Liam Walsh to name a few. Although he went just 2-3 in those matchups, Hughes was able to accrue some invaluable ring savvy in the process.

Hughes overcoming a young, hungry O’Leary, who is 10 years his junior, is a mammoth task. 'Maximus' does, however, have the experience to record the win if he executes a well-orchestrated fight plan.

For that reason, the 36-year-old gets the nod here.

Edge: Hughes

Who has the edge in O’Leary vs. Hughes?

O’Leary stopping Hughes would make somewhat of a statement that the Irish fighter is ready for the next step in his career and DAZN News likes ‘Big Bang’ to do just that, giving him the 2-1 edge entering this bout.

Dickens vs. Cacace only on DAZN

Watch Jazza Dickens versus Anthony Cacace only on DAZN subscription. Choose between a standard subscription or DAZN Ultimate Tier, which includes PPV fight nights.

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