Few Canadian boxers had as dominant a year in 2022 as Orangeville, Ont. welterweight Josh Wagner (14-0, 8 KO).
The Boss went a perfect five-for-five, earning stoppage wins in his last three fights — breaking into the global Top-50 on BoxRec in the process — and has serious plans for the year ahead.
“We want bigger fights, we want to be ranked by the WBC, the WBA,” said Wagner, whose last outing proved to be a short one en route to a third-round TKO win over Germany’s Yaser Yuksel. “I put a lot of trust in my promoter and my management, we’re all on the same page and I’ll fight whoever is put in front of me.”
The first target in Wagner’s crosshairs this year — Albanian Xhuljo Vrenozi (18-5, 3 KO) on Feb. 25 in Brampton — is a crafty veteran.
“He fought a fellow United boxer in Sukhdeep (Singh), and I was in the building for that,” said Wagner. “He’s got a European style, very tricky, is good on his feet (and) a good combination puncher.
“My prediction? A later-round stoppage, somewhere between six and eight,” continued a determined Wagner. “I’ll be ready for 10 rounds of war, but with lots of early body work and the jab I don’t see it going past six or seven.”
Wagner credits his recent stoppage streak to a new partnership with coach Stevie Bailey. In three fights with the Irishman in his corner, Wagner is the boxing equivalent of batting 1.000.
“I’ve always had the killer instinct, but a big part of these results is Stevie, getting me back to fundamentals, sitting down on my shots more (and) not being as jumpy,” explained Wagner. “It’s that transition from being slick and smooth on your feet, to sitting down on your shots.
“That’s been the difference in my last three wins.”
One thing is certain: If Josh Wagner continues to stop every opponent put in his warpath, the who, where or how will not matter — the fighting pride of Orangeville will rise up the rankings internationally.
That push for the global mountaintop begins in earnest on Feb. 25 at the CAA Centre against Xhuljo Vrenozi.
United Boxing Promotions returns to Brampton’s CAA Centre in a big way on February 25, with a trio of undefeated United boxers set to put their zeroes on the line as part of an action-packed evening featuring seven fights.
Fresh off a ferocious third-round TKO win against Germany’s Yaser Yuksel in November,Josh Wagner(14-0, 8 KO) faces Albanian Xhuljo Vrenozi (18-5, 3 KO) in the evening’s Main Event. The fighting pride of Orangeville, Ont., “The Boss” has shown an aggressive streak of late — earning stoppage wins in each of his last three outings — and will be hunting for nothing less than a statement victory over the crafty Vrenozi.
Ringside with Carlos is a bi-weekly column written by Carlos Verde, featuring reflections on Ontario boxing, fighter profiles and feature stories on those in the fight game.
