But “Maximus” made the Aldershot man work for his victory and pushed him particularly hard during an impressive eighth round.

In the end, judge Lee Every could not split them, scoring it 95-95, but judges Rey Danseco and Jon Llona Fernandez both agreed Visioli (12-0, 6 KOs) had done just enough to edge it 96-94.

The pair met in the chief support bout on the Matchroom event headlined by Dalton Smith’s WBC junior welterweight defense against Alberto Puello at Utilita Arena.

Visioli has been tipped to follow in Smith’s footsteps by becoming a British world champion after an impressive start to his career as a pro.

His rise towards the top has been reasonably serene until now and most of the noise around him has come as the result of much publicised sparring beef with Floyd Mayweather protege Curmel Moton, rather than anything that has happened under the lights.

The 23-year-old won the English title last time out with a wide 10-round decision victory over Levi Giles in London, but this clash with seasoned campaigner Hughes (29-10-2, 6 KOs) was billed as his real acid test.

Hughes showed signs of that in the final minutes of a cagey opener as he landed with a crisp left hand from his southpaw stance that Visioli definitely felt. But Visioli took it well and stuck to his boxing in the second before he buzzed Hughes with a left hand of his own in the third.

After his early warning shot, Hughes appeared second best to the younger man, who was producing a mature and patient performance against his fellow left-hander. Visioli was controlling the distance with a long, sharp jab and Hughes, in and out on his toes, just could not get close.

With 30 seconds left in the seventh, the 36-year-old did get through with a well-timed body shot as a reminder of his power and experience and it proved to be the start of his best spell in the fight. In the eighth, Hughes then landed a crunching left hand to the head and another to the body before a right hook got through too.

Suddenly, with Visioli bleeding heavily from his left eye and Hughes seemingly landing at will, the momentum had completely changed and the youngster had serious questions to answer. He had been hit with more shots in one round than he had in the rest of his 11 fights combined.

But the former Repton amateur refused to crumble despite the late rally from Hughes and got back behind his jab in a controlled ninth, which he won. There was more of the same in the 10th as Visioli held on for victory.

Heavyweight prospect Leo Atang needed just one round to see off Argentinean visitor Jonathan Exequiel Vergara (9-5, 5 KOs) in an eye-catching showcase outing.

Atang (9-0, 8 KOs), still only 19, dropped the visitor three times in the first round and that was enough to ensure the fight was called off in the break before the second.

A week after Queensberry hope Adam Olaniyan, who has been touted as a future opponent for Atang, did the business inside two rounds at London’s O2 Arena, his teenage rival did not put a foot wrong either.

There was a similarly explosive start to the DAZN broadcast as Shannon Ryan settled her long-awaited rematch with Emma Dolan after just 46 seconds.

Ryan (12-1, 3 KOs) suffered the only defeat of her career to Dolan (9-2, 1 KO) when the Newark native beat her via split decision in June 2022. Ryan has rebuilt steadily ever since with four straight wins until she finally got her chance at revenge.

And she took it emphatically, dropping Dolan twice before the end came well inside the first minute. It has been a tough year for 28-year-old Dolan, who was stopped inside three by Irma Garcia in April.