Ryan Taylor for the vacant English light-welterweight title. However, after Taylor suffered a stoppage defeat earlier in the month he was handed an automatic suspension, prompting Anthony Hardy to be drafted in as a replacement. The bout took place on 18 July 2015 at the Bath Pavilion in Bath, with Hughes emerging victorious via ten-round split decision (SD) to capture his fourth professional title in as many fights. Two judges scored the bout 98–92 in favour of Hughes while the third scored it 97–95 to Hardy. After a TKO win in a non-title fight against Tomas Bartunek in October, Hughes successfully defended his English title on 5 December, defeating Anthony Upton via ten-round unanimous decision (UD) at the Town Hall in Walsall. After his win over Upton, Hughes relinquished his English title in favour of a final eliminator for the British light-welterweight title, challenging The Ring magazine's number nine ranked contender and WBO Inter-Continental light-welterweight champion Jack Catterall. The bout took place on 13 May 2016 at the Macron Stadium's Premier Suite in Bolton, with Hughes suffering the second defeat of his career, losing by UD with the judges' scorecards reading 117–112, 117–113, and 115–113. Following the defeat to Catterall, Hughes was installed as the mandatory challenger for the English title that he relinquished prior to the Catterall fight, which was then held by former victim Anthony Upton. Upton elected to relinquish the title instead of fighting Hughes, leaving Hughes to face Andy Keates for the vacant title on 17 December 2016 at Action Indoor Sports in Bristol. Hughes regained the English title via UD, with the judges' scorecards reading 100–92, 98–94, and 97–94. British title attempt For his next fight he once again vacated his English title in order to challenge British light-welterweight champion, Tyrone Nurse, on 23 April 2017 at the Leicester Arena. In what was viewed as a surprise result, Hughes fought to a twelve-round split draw. One judge scored the bout 115–113 in favour of Hughes, another scored it 116–113 for Nurse while the third judge scored it even at 115–115 to see Nurse retain the British title. European title He returned to the Leicester Arena for his next fight, challenging European light-welterweight champion, Anthony Yigit, on 2 December. In a fight that saw Hughes start as the aggressor, he eventually slowed down as he began to tire, going on to suffer his third professional defeat