Man On A Mission
It is generally considered by boxing experts that next to Troy Ross, Canada’s best hope to capture a world boxing title rests with Logan Cotton McGuinness. On May 5th of this year, McGuinness will defend his NABA super featherweight title against American Meacher Major at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Major can fight but for McGuinness, this match is one more step up the ladder to a world title shot in 2013 or 2014.
McGuinness, the bomber from Barrie, is one of the top super featherweights in the world. He is on a mission to seek and destroy every fighter who blocks his path to a world title shot. With each impressive victory, he is removing any shred of doubt that may exist about his meteoric but well deserved rise to title-contender status. McGuinness is the real deal. He has it all and will, one day soon, fight for the aforementioned super-featherweight world title.
Immensely skilled with crushing power in both hands, McGuinness views his upcoming opponent Major in the same manner that he views all of his opponents; as nothing more than an opponent who must be beaten to a pulp and then knocked out in brutal fashion.
As harsh as that may sound, it should be noted that we are, after all, talking about professional boxing. In the pro ranks, fans come to see knockouts. The more brutal the knockout the more enjoyable it is for the fans.
The goal in the pro ranks is to win in spectacular fashion and the quickest way to do that is to separate your opponent from his senses with effective and accurate power punching. There are few better at that these days than Barrie, Ontario’s Logan Cotton McGuinness. Now, anyone who doubts that McGuinness has such a mindset has not had the privilege of seeing him demonstrate his power punching skills inside the squared circle.
When in the ring, McGuinness is always looking for the kill. Yes, he has superb boxing skills but if his foe makes one error, you can rest assured it will be the first and last error he makes against McGuinness. McGuinness has proved before that he only needs one shot to end matters instantly. The look a lion has when it sees its prey for the first time is identical to the bomber from Barrie’s eyes when he stares down his foes during the referee’s instructions. Both Logan and the lion are looking to end matters quickly and efficiently.
Make no mistake about it. McGuinness is a gifted pro fighter with great hand speed, dazzling footwork and a punishing body attack. In his NABA title winning match vs. Benoit Gaudet on October 22, 2011, at the Hershey Centre, McGuinness’s early body work, which included a constant stream of vicious left hooks to the liver (known in boxing as the Mexican left hook) paid huge dividends later on as he methodically broke down Gaudet, eventually leaving the Quebecois fighter defenseless and unconscious.
Gaudet won some of the early rounds with his dazzling boxing technique. Gaudet utilized his quick jab and lateral movement to keep McGuinness, always the hunter, at bay temporarily. From the 6th round on, it was all McGuinness, as each booming body shot he landed helped sap Gaudet’s strength and, more importantly, will. McGuinness literally punched the fight right out of Gaudet.
In the 11th round, McGuinness executed his kill in as quick and brutal a fashion as a lion slays a zebra. McGuinness threw a swift left hook to the jaw, which traveled maybe six inches at most. Gaudet, knocked cold upon impact, fell to the canvas with a resounding thud, where he remained, unmoving for some time.
McGuinness’s knockout of Gaudet was as inevitable as it was brutal. Boxing is a hurting game and, when it comes to laying on the hurt, McGuinness is one of the best in the world. He is young, skilled, powerful and hungry. With each sensational victory, he is becoming hungrier for bigger and better prey.
On May 12, American Meacher Major (W20, KO17, L4) will be the next fighter to dare step into the lion’s den and take on the still unbeaten NABA super feather champion. While many young fighters become more satisfied with each victory, McGuinness is certainly not most young fighters. His appetite for better competition is insatiable.
The Barrie native really does not care what you have done in the past in your career or whom you may have beaten previously and, what’s more, why should he? Past victories or losses can’t help you now. The way McGuinness looks at it is, yes you may have been punched or even hurt before, but not like you are about to get punched and hurt tonight. The Barrie bomber is in the ring to do one thing, which is, end you.
No less a respected pugilistic authority than International Boxing Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein is one of McGuinness’s many big name boosters. Bernstein has said on many occasions that McGuinness is a world champion waiting to happen and that all Canadians should rejoice in his success and talent.
As his past opponents have learned, much to their chagrin, there is no quit in McGuinness. As many boxing insiders in Canada and the United States have said before about his heart and desire, “You’d have to kill him to quit him.”
Such a comment may seem extreme on the face of it but with McGuinness it is perfectly apt. Defeat is not an option under any circumstances for McGuinness. As long as his heart still beats, he will be throwing punches with bad intentions to the last second of each round.
One of McGuinness’s rarely mentioned assets is his granite chin. In other words, the kid takes a good shot. One reason for that is he has perfect balance in the ring. Angelo Dundee used to say that a fighter with perfect balance is almost impossible to beat. McGuinness is a good example of how great balance gives a fighter a huge advantage over his opponent, both offensively and defensively.
McGuinness always manages to get tremendous leverage on his shots. He is able to plant his feet effectively and pivot at the waist, using the full strength of his legs to get his entire body weight behind each savage body and head shot he throws. This is why he has a great knockout ratio. He rarely if ever wastes his shots by throwing arm punches.
Even when McGuinness jabs, he sticks that punch right into your face with power. One day, he will knock out one of his foes with a jab. To see such incredible strength in a super featherweight is very rare. The only other featherweight who could punch like that was Canada’s immortal Art Hafey, a.k.a. The Toy Tiger.
Defensively, McGuinness’s balance always enables him to successfully diffuse the power of his opponent’s blows throughout his legs, taking away the full sting of the punch. When he blocks a punch, his outstanding balance allows him to fire back immediately. He is able to switch back and forth from offense to defense and back, while maintaining his balance. This is something that many fighters, such as Thomas Hearns, never fully master.
As physically imposing as McGuinness is at super featherweight, he wins his fights by outthinking his opponents. Watch his fights. They are like chess matches, albeit with blood. His ability to outthink his opponent in mid-fight is evidence of an ability that only the greats have, namely the ability to improvise during a fight when plan A is not working out as it should.
McGuinness showed yet another aspect of his vast skill set during the Gaudet bout by being extremely patient and not wasting any shots in frustration. He could afford to be patient because he was cutting off the ring effectively and he knew it was just a matter of time until Gaudet would make one mistake and the fight would end, as it did, dramatically.
McGuinness keeps improving with each successive fight. He learns from his mistakes and corrects them in the gym. He seems to subscribe to Muhammad Ali’s theory of training. Ali always thought while training, “I’ll train very hard now so I can enjoy being the world champion later.”
Canada has an incredible history of success in the lower weight classes from George Dixon to Johnny Coulon, to Jimmy McLarnin, to Art Hafey to Ian Clyde. Hafey was the best featherweight in the world for four consecutive years in the 1970’s. Logan Cotton McGuinness seems poised to pick up the torch from the former Toy Tiger and carry it proudly for many years to come.
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