Sports

Josh Wagner wins IBA Intercontinental Championship with TKO

September 15, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Orangeville boxer, Josh Wagner, claimed the IBA Intercontinental Welterweight championship with a win over opponent, Jorge Perez, Friday night at the CAA Centre in Brampton.

Wagner arrived at the arena on Sept. 9 with a 12-0 record.

Perez, fighting out of Mexico City, is an experienced boxer with a 13-2 record before the fight, including five knock-outs.

The scheduled ten-round bout was fairly even during the first few rounds. Both fighters were cautious as they sparred in the ring with neither boxer getting much of an advantage.

In the fourth, Wagner delivered a combination that stunned Perez and knocked him back on the ropes just before the bell rang to end the round.

Wagner delivered a couple of hard lefts in the seventh round that shook Perez.

Wagner won the eighth round and finished it off backing Perez into a corner and getting in some good shots to set up the next round.

In the ninth round, Wagner came out to finish the fight delivering a hard left that dropped Perez to the canvas. Perez got a standing eight-count and the fight resumed.

Perez hit the canvas a second time only a few seconds later, and once again got a standing eight as the referee decided he was good to continue.

Wagner went to work, backing Perez into a corner and delivering several shots that left Perez on the ropes and defenseless. The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, giving Wagner the win and the IBA Intercontinental title.

Wagner said he thought Perez took the first three rounds on points.

“It was 3-1 after four rounds,” Josh said. “It was 4-2 after six, and going into the ninth round it was a really tight fight. The guy was game – he was tall and had a lot of range, he had a good boxing IQ – he was tricky to figure out. I was too hesitant on throwing the right hand for the first five rounds, which was the game plan. The game plan was to start slow and work the body early. But I kind of waited too long, then my coach said ‘you gotta go. If you don’t win these last two rounds you’re going to lose this fight.’ I turned it up and took it to him. The first knock down was a left hand, it stunned him. I dropped him again with an overhand right and a left hook. The one that finished him was a left hook and he fell into the ropes.”

Josh said while training, he was training for a 12-round bout, and that paid off in this fight.

“It’s nice to know that I’m in 12-round shape,” Josh said. “I have so much trust in my coach. Going into the later rounds, I could tell the other guy was getting more and more tired, I could feel it. I felt like I hadn’t even stepped on the gas yet – I felt like I had a lot of juice left in the tank.”

Now that he holds a title, other fighters will be showing up to try to take that title away.

Plans in the Wagner camp are to stay in form and they are looking at the next fight to take place probably in late November.

Wagner is now ranked 47^th in the world, and is hoping to move into the top 15 during the next year.

His professional record is now 13-0.

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