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Orangeville boxer Josh Wagner prepares for biggest fight of his career

November 21, 2024   ·   0 Comments

A win places Wagner among world’s top boxers

By Brian Lockhart

Local boxer Josh Wagner is in France getting ready for the biggest fight of his career.

The 12-round bout is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 22, at the Zenith metropole, in Nantes.

Josh, a welterweight who is 18-0, will be up against Frenchman David Papot, who will be arriving with a 29-0-1 record.

Papot, who hails from Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, is a 33-year-old southpaw with a formidable record.

There will be two titles at stake in this 12-round fight – the IBF International Welterweight belt, and the WBO Global Welterweight belt.

Whoever emerges victorious in this bout will see their career take off to the next level.

Josh’s team is heading to France with a lot of confidence that his hand will be raised in victory in the ring on Friday. The team flew to Europe on Nov. 15, so they have had a full week to get ready and shake off any jet lag.

“We have no schedule, we’ve got nothing but open days, before the bout, we’ll be fine,” said Ryan Wagner, a former professional boxer himself, who is Josh’s brother and manager.

Josh originally had another match planned and started training, but he passed on that match when he got the opportunity for the big fight in France.

“He’s been training for about 10 weeks,” Ryan said. “He was supposed to fight in October, then we got this offer. He was already training for that fight so he’s had a longer training camp so he’s ready to rock now. He trains in downtown Toronto at the West End Athletic Club, the best club in the country. They have four or five guys there now that are all top 15 in the world, so they have a good stable of fighters. It’s a good atmosphere, everything about it is top-notch.”

Josh’s opponent will be fighting in front of a home-country crowd, but the Wagner team isn’t worried about being the visiting fighter.

“Papot, he’s a good fighter,” Ryan explained. “He’s a couple of years older than Josh, so at this point in his career it’s make or break. He’s got to do something big. He’s 29 wins, zero losses, so he has an amazing record. He’s beat a few undefeated guys so it’s not like he’s fought slouches. He’s a good fighter, a true top contender, he’s top-20 in the world. Josh is rated slightly higher than him at 18th in the world. This is a competitive fight. On paper, Josh is a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little faster. We have the advantage other than the fact that we’re fighting in this guy’s backyard.”

Josh already holds the IBF International Title, and he will be fighting to defend it and claim the new title.

If he is successful, it will place Josh in the top seven in the world, which will line him up for a world title fight.

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