Maxi Hughes still has his heart set on snaring a shot at a major lightweight world title before ending his career.

Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) looked as good as ever when outclassing Ireland’s Gary Cully last December and returns to action against Archie Sharp (25-1, 9 KOs) at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium on May 23.

If successful, the 35 year-old will then begin paying close attention to the world scene.

In New York City on July 12, WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, takes on unbeaten Mexican, William Zepeda, on The Ring's third boxing event.

Last March, Hughes travelled to Las Vegas to take on the all-action Zepeda in an IBF/WBA title eliminator.

At the time, Zepeda was seen as the rising force in the lightweight division and he quickly made his mark on an outgunned but out of sorts Hughes, forcing the Yorkshireman’s corner to retire him after four rounds.

Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is still unbeaten but two close fights with the slick but ageing former IBF champion, Tevin Farmer, have shown the type of deficiencies that elite processors like Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) are adept at exposing.

Still, the 27 year-old American's well-documented hand issues remain a serious worry and controlling a marauding, aggressive fighter like Zepeda without a major weapon is an imposing challenge.

Hughes is intrigued by the match-up.

“I remember having this conversation with my team after Zepeda filled me in,” he told The Ring with a laugh.

“We were sat in my hotel room having some pizza and I said that I thought he’d walk through Shakur.

“He's obviously a bit of a beast but then seeing him against Tevin Farmer, he showed a few holes in his armour so I'm leaning towards Shakur to outbox him but if Shakur doesn't hit that hard - as we're seeing - he might not.

“Zepeda might say, ‘You know what? I'm going to take a few of these to get inside and rough him up.’

“We've not seen Shakur be able to be put under that kind of pressure and if he can handle it. If he can keep Zepeda off for 12 rounds, fair play to him but he is a handful. I'm leaning towards Shakur to outbox him on points but I want to see if Zepeda can get in.”

That defeat to Zepeda brought Hughes outstanding run of form to a hard end.

Over the course of two years, the 34 year-old scored six consecutive victories, each more impressive and important than the previous.

He collected the British and IBO lightweight titles and more than earned the chance to prove his worth on the world stage against former unified and Ring Magazine champion, George Kambosos.

In July 2023 the two fought in Oklahoma and whilst the Australian may have been handed a controversial majority decision victory, Hughes’ performance earned him plenty of acclaim and kept him firmly in the lightweight picture.

Rather than a deserved rematch, Hughes was handed the tough mission of derailing the hard charging Zepeda, a task made all the more difficult by the serious visa issues he encountered in the fortnight before the fight.

After landing in Nevada he was forced to immediately board a return flight home alone and spent a stressful few days cobbling together a training routine while he waited to see if the problem could be solved.

He eventually made it to Las Vegas only four days before the fight.

Seeing a fellow slick southpaw like Farmer trouble Zepeda so much has bolstered Hughes’ belief that he didn’t do himself justice. Providing he gets past Sharp, and Zepeda springs the upset against Stevenson, he would love the opportunity to try again.

“If all the stars align and my preparation goes well, I'd like that chance again,” he said.

“I've always said I don't use it [the travel issue] as an excuse. I decided to get in the ring. I could have pulled out and had it postponed but I went ahead and said I was OK so that eliminates it as an excuse but I would love to have the chance to do it again with him.

“If he can beat Shakur, that'd be perfect. Let him have a first defence against me. I've rebuilt myself and I'll be up in the rankings with the WBC so I'll have more than earned my shot and proven my worth again so, hopefully, that can be done.”

Saudi Arabia’s arrival in boxing has heralded a welcome desire to see one fighter recognised as the best in their respective weight class.

The 135lb lightweight division may be laden with talent but it remains one of the most fragmented in boxing. Hughes has surveyed the landscape and doesn’t see the pieces being brought together any time soon.

Hughes is ranked inside the top 15 by the WBC, WBA and IBF and, provided he keeps winning, the current splintered title situation increases his chances of getting a major title shot.

“I'd love to face the winner because I don't think the unifications are going to happen,” he said.

“You’ve got [WBA champion] ’Tank’ Davis who is with PBC and who just seems to be choosing the super featherweight champions to step up, albeit obviously Lamont Roach is a good lightweight as well, so there's cross promotions there.

“[WBO title holder] Keyshawn Davis and Shakur say they'll never fight because they're really good friends and you've got [IBF champion] Vasyl Lomachenko who's out injured at the minute.

“I don't think we're going to see a unification fight so, hopefully, I'll get my opportunity this year. I'm still working with Lou DiBella. He’s a well-connected guy so hopefully he can get my name in there and speak with them all and get me that opportunity.”