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O-ville boxer returns to the ring

November 5, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

After a hiatus that lasted five years, Orangeville fighter Josh Wagner is resuming his professional boxing career and will be in the ring in Rimouski, Quebec on November 21.

Wagner started his pro career as a super-welterweight in 2013, winning his first fight with a unanimous decision.

He followed up with five more fights over the next two years, winning them all. The bouts included four TKO’s and one knock-out.

All six of his fights took place in Alberta – five in Edmonton and one in Calgary.

He turned pro after moving to Alberta. With 60 amateur bouts behind him, Josh figured he had the experience to move into the pro ranks of the sport.

“I went out there to work,” Josh explained. “Once I got out there I met with a promoter. I walked into the gym and said I’m an amateur, I’m from Orangeville, Ontario. Bryan Mackie was my coach. He knew Bryan from the boxing world. One thing led to another and rest is history.”

Josh fought out of Big Tyme Fitness in Orangeville as an amateur. The gym was operated by former professional boxer Bryan Mackie.

His career stalled after he made some admittedly bad decisions.

“I started hanging around with the wrong crew and living a negative lifestyle,” Josh explained. “That kind of led me down a dark path. I got some help, and now I’m making a comeback. I had to conquer my own demons and I won that battle. Now I am ready to conquier everyone in the ring.”

Once he made the decision to get back into boxing, he turned his attention to getting back in shape, honing his skills, and training hard.

His return to the ring was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three scheduled bouts were cancelled over the past several months.

The event in Rimouski is sponsored by Eye of the Tiger promotions and features a full slate of boxing. A tournament called the Square of Eight Tournament is the lead attraction.

Josh will be on the undercard in the super-welterweight division and going up against a fighter named Raphael Courchesne, a 21 year-old  out of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Courchesne has an 8-0 professional record.

Courchesne has won two of his bouts by TKO, and recorded wins by a unanimous decision. 

Josh said that despite not being in the ring for five years, he is ready and confident in his ability going into November’s fight.

“I’ve been preparing for this since the beginning of the year,” Josh said. “I’ve been ready to fight for the past five months. My sparring and training is going superb. I’m going into this fight looking for a knockout – that’s what I’m going for. With training it’s a combination of things. I’m up every morning at 5:00 a.m. running. I don’t have to work right now because I have sponsorships taking care of me. My main focus is training full time right now. Mentally I do visualization and meditation. I’m very confident in my abilities. I’m a naturally gifted fighter and if I keep training hard it will all fall into place – that’s how I feel.”

Josh has a full team backing him up when he’s in the ring. 

In addition to his sponsors he has an Olympic level coach and training partners, Jake Daoust and Joshua Fraser.

With a lot of poeple supporting him in Orangeville, there will be plenty of people tuning in to watch the fight.

The November 21, event will be broadcast live.

You can watch all the action live on www.punchinggrace.com.

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