Tag Archives: Logan

Posted on 11/19/2019

By: Hans Themistode

When Logan Paul and KSI, two social media stars, stepped into the ring against one another in late August of 2018, it was something of a mockery and intriguing all wrapped into one. Both men were by no means considered actual fighters, but their social media followings made it a must see contest. 

When the event came to a close, it left a sour taste in the mouths of many as the contest ended in a majority draw. Fast forward one year later and the pair decided to do it again.

 

On November 9th, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles California, the surprisingly, yet also unsurprisingly highly anticipated rematch took place. Promoting the contest was none other than Eddie Hearn. He did a great job of putting together a championship level undercard which would include WBO Super Middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders and WBC Lightweight belt holder Devin Haney. 

Still, Hearn would say again and again that this contest between Youtubers would be just a one off. Now that the event has come and gone and the numbers have been tallied, Hearn suddenly has a change of heart.

“It has actually changed my stance,” said Hearn. We’re numbers people in this game. Everyone is. Anything that delivers is good news for everybody. What we can’t do is turn into a circus and have random people fighting each other all over the place. It’s a one off in that respect for me in terms of headlining a card, with a world championship undercard. I don’t think you’re going to see that a lot. Will you see other YouTubers fight on undercards moving forward? Much more likely.”

This isn’t exactly the sort of news that older boxing fans wanted to hear. Many of the older fans of the sport felt that two fighters who haven’t had any serious experience in a boxing ring shouldn’t have been headlining such a major card in one of the most famed arenas in the world. Yet, it happened and those same fans are hoping to never see it again. 

Don’t hold your breath. 

We could be headed for more of these celebrity style matchups in the not so distant future. 

Don’t simply cast aspersions on Hearn. These high profile contests could come from just about every promoter down the line. 

“If it’s thrilling, if it’s exciting, you’re going to see many more of these, and it won’t just come from me,” said Hearn. “It will come from other promoters who look at the numbers and say, ‘we’ve got to do this.’ We can’t satisfy the demand of all of these celebrities and YouTubers.”

It might not be what fans wanted to hear, but it is a reality they will now have to deal with. 

Posted on 11/08/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Matchroom Boxing will put on a fight card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This card will be televised live on DAZN and features a main event between two fighters with no professional boxing experience.

However, they are YouTube stars, and will attract an audience to the sport that traditionally does not watch boxing.

KSI and Logan Paul will meet in a rematch of their fight from 2018 that resulted in a majority draw. Their first fight was fought with headgear and was not considered a professional fight, however this fight won’t feature headgear and is considered a professional fight.

The co-main event of the evening is a WBO Super Middleweight Title Fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Marcelo Esteban Coceres. The undercard will feature boxers such as WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney, Ronny Rios, NIkit Ababiy, Diego Pacheco, and Isaiah Ocasio.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

Billy Joe Saunders (28-0) vs. Marcel Esteban Coceres (28-0-1); WBO Super Middleweight Title

Billy Joe Saunders had been with long time promoter Frank Warren, but has recently decided to sign with Matchroom Boxing and promoter Eddie Hearn with the hopes to face Canelo Alvarez in the future.

Saunders is often overlooked when discussing middleweight boxers, but his skill and talent is undeniable. However, a failed VADA test might have helped diminish his standing amongst boxing aficionados.

Saunders, at 30 years old, is still in his athletic prime and will have a two inch height advantage on his opponent. Coceres is twenty eight years old and is taking a big step up in competition.

The one area that Coceres has an edge on Saunders is ring activity. Coceres fought twice in 2019 and five times in 2018 while Saunders only fought once in 2019 and once in 2018. Both boxers have moderate power, with Saunders stopping thirteen of his opponents while Coceres has stopped fifteen.

Saunders has beaten the likes of David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Andy Lee, Chris Eubank Jr., John Ryder, and Gary O’ Sullivan. He was also a participant in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Coceres has spent his entire career fighting in Argentina except for one fight. His list of victories is over lesser known opponents, including Basilio Silva, Cristian Zarate, and Sebastian Lujan. He has no notable amateur experience.

This is a showcase fight for Saunders as he looks to impress a crowd that may not be familiar with his work. Coceres has a good record, but there’s little behind it. This writer expects Saunders to win rather easily on Saturday.

Logan Paul (0-0) vs. KSI (0-0); Cruiserweights

How do you preview a main event between two boxers making their professional debut?

It should be noted that they met before, at the Manchester Arena in front of 18,000 fans over six rounds. Their fight ended in a draw, with Logan Paul dominating early on but KSI coming back strong in the second half of the fight.

The scores of the fight were 57-57, 57-57, and one judge scored it 58-57 for KSI.

Paul is two years younger than KSI and will have about a two inch reach advantage.

It’s been nearly a year since they last fought and both YouTube personalities have been working hard. It should be noted that Logan Paul is a former amateur wrestler so he has more experience than KSI in going through grueling workouts.

Both guys have over 40 million YouTube subscribers between them so they should draw a decent crowd to watch them online and in person.

If Paul can improve his stamina and conditioning and not showboat during the fight like he did last time, he should come out on top.

But this is a tough fight to predict and a lot can change in one year. The question is, which man has truly committed himself to training?

Based on nothing but speculation, this writer gives a slight edge to Logan Paul.

Posted on 10/28/2016

Fighting on short notice, McGuinness embraces “Road Warrior” persona​
By:Ed Hitchins ‘

Boxer Logan “Cotton” McGuinness expected to fight on October 28th in Brampton, Ontario in front family and friends.
But an opportunity to fight out in western Canada was too good an opportunity to miss.

“The card [in Brampton] has been postponed,” said McGuinness (23-0-1, 10 KO’s) who will now face Mexican Noel Mejia Rincon (18-9-1, 10 KO’s) as the co-main event in a card Friday night in Calgary, Alberta, which will be streamed on Facebook.

“Hopefully they’re saying November. If that’s the case and the fight goes well, I’ll be on that card. My promoter Lee Baxter was talking to Eric [De Guzman] about putting a card together and managed to squeeze me in.”

McGuinness knows all too well about life on the road. 14 of his 24 professional fights have taken place outside his home base of Toronto.

McGuinness doesn’t care if he has to travel to the ends of the earth to taste success.

“My pro debut [in Ireland], I went alone. I went with no family. I had a guy corner me there that I never met in my life,” says McGuinness.

“I’ve no problem going anywhere to fight anybody, as long as circumstances are right.”

Promoter Lee Baxter feels that the experiences McGuinness had abroad has helped develop a chip on his shoulder.
“Fighting on the road gets you out of your comfort zone, and gives you another experience in and outside of the ring,” says Baxter.

“I believe Logan can make a lot of noise where people will talk about him again before the end of the year. By mid-2017 he will be chasing down super featherweight world titles.”

The first north american champion (NABA) in three different weight classes, 29 year old McGuinness knows he must look impressive against Rincon before world titles become a possibility.

“He’s a Mexican. They always come to fight. I’ve been doing my work [the past 3-4 months] to get myself back to where I should be.”

“Hopefully everything goes well. I can stay a lot busier than I have been in the past little while, and we can back to where we should be.”