Maxi Hughes was written off and resurrected his career all in the same year.

The 34-year-old southpaw was surprisingly dominant in a shutout win over Ireland's Gary Cully. Scores were 100-90 on all three cards for Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) in their ten-round lightweight bout Saturday on DAZN from Salle des Étoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Most of the rounds were competitive in their own way but never to the point where Cully could claim an edge. Hughes worked his way inside and immediately took away Cully's five-inch height and reach advantage. It set the table for Hughes' most significant win since a Sept. 2022 shocker over former IBF featherweight titlist Kid Galahad.

Cully was unable to establish his jab and was hesitant at times to let his hands fly. The effects were still evident from a stoppage defeat to Jose Felix Jr. last May in Dublin, though the 28-year-old lefty found his groove midway through the fight.

It only made for closer rounds, and also came at a cost.

Hughes stunned Cully with an overhand left in the sixth round. Cully suffered a bad cut over his right eye that realistically could have brought a stop to the fight at any time. The bout lingered on, for which Cully was lauded for his bravery.

Cully was clipped again in round eight, a sequence that dislodged his mouthpiece. Hughes remained a step ahead down the stretch, prepared for any last-ditch rally planned by Cully (18-2, 10 KOs).

Hughes advanced to 28-7-2 (6 KOs), his second straight after he previously lost two in a row. His year began with a one-sided beatdown at the hands of William Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs), The Ring No. 4 lightweight who stopped Hughes after four rounds on March 16 in Las Vegas.

The crushing defeat came eight months after Hughes was considered unlucky to lose a decision to former Ring/unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. (21-3, 10 KOs). Saturday's win now has him flying high.

"I'm 35 next [March] and feel as fresh as ever," Hughes told DAZN's Jamie Ward. "“It’s been a tough camp. My last fight I wasn’t happy with my performance and there’s still plenty of fight left in the dog. I had a virus, ear infection, chest infection, I was close to pulling out.”

The bout was part of a five-fight DAZN livestream headlined by the Murodjon Akhmadaleiv-Ricardo Espinoza interim WBA junior featherweight title fight.

Also on the card, Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs) enjoyed a successful Matchroom Boxing debut with a first-round knockout of Volodymyr Katsuk (5-2, 2 KOs). Teremoana scored three knockdowns to force the stoppage at 2:04 of the first round.