By Terence Dooley

Wiltshire-based Joe Hughes (16-3-1, 7 KOs) has been left in boxing limbo after it emerged that his team’s bid to stage the BBBoC mandated final eliminator for the British light-welterweight title was not processed correctly. 

The Board had matched the 27-year-old against Ennis Brown, but Brown has since withdrew himself from the process, leaving Hughes pondering his next move.

“We put a bid in for the fight but we had heard from their side of things after we placed the bid, that he was pulling out of it,” he said when speaking to the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald.  “I don't know why they did that, they have their own reasons.  Then the board came back and they said they hadn't received any bids.  My manager (Andy O'Kane) phoned them up to say we had put a bid in and they said it wasn't put in correctly, even though we have done it like that in the past and been successful.  I don't really know what is happening now, it's a bit ridiculous.”

Hughes’s former title tilt ended in a draw to former holder Tyrone Nurse in April of last year, and he had hoped to force another shot this year only to left disappointed.  He added: “Now they might either find me another person to box in an eliminator, they could possibly put me forward for the next shot at the title, or they could just for nothing.  It's a bit frustrating because nothing materialised. 

“I just have to wait and see, I'm hoping to get a fight elsewhere in the meantime...It's not ideal taking things at short notice.  I've had a few fights on local shows but the opponents want so much money to fight me I don't sell enough tickets to cover their purse, let alone mine.  At the minute it costs me money to fight, unless I take something at short notice where it is a decent fight.”

Following his tussle with Nurse, Hughes dropped a decision to EBU champion Anthony Yigit in December before bouncing back with a sixth-round retirement win over Ruben Rodriguez in February.

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