Boxing Insider Fight Night: 4 Rds. Jr. Welterweights – Michael Hughes vs. Nelson Morales

Details on the competitors in the four-round junior welterweight bout between Michael Hughes and Nelson Morales, taking place at Sony Hall in New York City on Thursday night.

If you can’t be there, check it out live at this link:
https://youtube.com/live/q-FUAhBaf6Y

MICHAEL HUGHES

Age — 33
Record — 3-1, 1 KO
Height — 5’11”
Weight — 140.2 pounds
Originally from — New York, NY
Fights out of — New York, NY

• Michael Hughes comes into Thursday night’s right with an interesting story, to say the least. First of all, he grew up just blocks away from tonight’s venue, as he hails from Hell’s Kitchen. And by his own admission, he did a lot of street fighting.
• He says that he used to experience a lot of anxiety as people were watching him fight, but some of that got cured when he took up Tae Kwon Do, and later, of course, boxing. He has dabbled in mixed martial arts, and got a late start in boxing – not stepping into the ring until the age of 19.
• Won a novice championship in the New York Golden Gloves in 2012. And he turned pro at the age of 30, taking a four-round decision over Rodolfo Ramirez.
• Suffered a setback against William Marcell Davis with a second-round TKO loss. But he had gained from 146-3/4 to 154 pounds for that bout. It’s not where he feels most comfortable.
• His last bout, which took place in March of last year, resulted in a six-round decision win over Danny Murray, and for that one he was all the way down to 139. That weight reduction happened over a period of just eight months.
• Hughes is the head coach at the Church Street Gym, which has two locations in Manhattan. He trains serious fighters, but also works with members of the public. His philosophy involves a lot of “positive reinforcement.’
• Credits boxing with providing a tremendous transformation in his life, and it’s something he likes top pass on to students.
• Graduated from St. John’s University in Queens with a degree in English in 2011.
• He’s tall for this division, and ideally he wants to use the left jab to control the tempo of fights. With an opponent like Nelson Morales, who doesn’t have a knockout win, it may reduce the danger for Hughes if he fails to maintain a distance.

NELSON MORALES

Age — 30
Record — 3-3, 0 KO’s
Height — 5’10”
Weight — 141.8 pounds
Originally from — San Pedro, Dominican Republic
Fights out of — Scranton, PA

• Morales says he has had over 30 amateur bouts, and got started in the sport in the Dominican Republic.
• Currently lives in Scranton, and is a police officer in a town nearby.
• Made his pro debut in September 2019 with a four-round majority decision over Kynndale Prather.
• For his third pro fight, went all the way to Deadwood, South Dakota, and the trip went for naught, as he was a decision loser to Giovanni Marquez.
• Has lost his last two bouts on decision to undefeated fighters – Raynel Mederos (on a Don King card in Miami) and Antonio Perez. The Perez fight was just twelve days ago.
• He’s been busy – this is already his third fight this calendar year.
• Has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride with weight. His debut came at 149 pounds, and at that particular time expressed that he’d eventually like to get down to lightweight., Well, he hasn’t done that, but was in the junior welterweight neighborhood. But then for his last fight he was 147-1/4 and now, in this short period, he’s back down. So that is something he’s had in common with Michael Hughes. He’s also tall for this division, like Hughes. Will this fight be contested completely on the outside?