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Josh Wagner wins first U.S. fight by unanimous decision

August 20, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Orangeville boxer, Josh Wagner increased his professional record to 8 – 0 after a huge win in the U.S. on Saturday, August 7.

Wagner was up against another undefeated opponent – Jeffrey Torres – who hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and entered the ring with a 7-0 record.

He entered the ring as a welterweight, weighing in at 147 lbs.

It was Wagner’s first fight out of the country. He was met with a chorus of ‘boos’ when he entered the arena to take on the American fighter at the MGM Springfield, in Springfield Massachusetts for the welterweight bout.

For Wagner, hearing the yells from the crowd only meant he was glad to be fighting in an arena that had fans.

His last match in Quebec was held under quarantine rules with no one in the seats.

“I was getting booed,” Wagner said. “My last fight, there was no crowd. In this fight there was a full crowd – it was intense. It was quite the experience. At the end of the fight they (the crowd) knew I had won, and they had to give respect where it was due. It was definitely his home town crowd. I could feel the boos, and feel that energy. Obviously they were going to cheer for the hometown guy but I kept my composure and I knew I was going to win them over.”

Wagner won the six-round bout with a unanimous decision after keeping up the pressure on Torres for the duration in the ring.

“It was a tough fight, a great fight. I dominated every round and got the win,” Wagner said. “The first round was a feel-out round. He gave a good shot in the first round and that kind of woke me up and then I took control of the fight.”

Fighting in the U.S. turned out to be a good experience and American promoters were impressed with what they saw when Wagner entered the ring.

Wagner said the fight didn’t take a lot out of him and he could be ‘ready to fight next week,’ if he had to.

“I don’t want to wait any longer than two or three months. I want to be ready, I want to be active. I’m in shape to do ten rounds. Obviously my team and I want to be smart about it and pick the right fights.”

He is looking for more fights in the States and has already talked to promoters who want to bring him back to the U.S.


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