In this special edition of ?What Boxing Means to Me,? I caught up with NABA Lightweight Champion Logan Cotton McGuinness (15-0-1) of Orangeville, Ontario, to get his views on the sweet science. McGuinness is set to face former WBC Super Featherweight contender Benoit Gaudet (24-2-0) of Drummondville, Quebec, this Saturday, October 22, in Mississauga, Ontario, for the vacant NABA Super Featherweight title. It?s a busy time for Mr. McGuinness and I can?t thank him enough for providing a few words for our segment.
In his book Distinction Earned: Cape Breton?s Boxing Legends, 1946-1970, author Paul MacDougall explains how future Canadian Champion Tyrone Gardiner became fascinated with boxing at age thirteen, while watching boxers train in the basement of the Sydney Steelworkers Union Hall. Rather than going home after school, or playing with friends, Gardiner was transfixed on the rhythms of boxing, peering through a window to see older boys learn the fistic trade. Eventually, Gardiner entered the club, becoming one of Canada?s most celebrated national champions. Its interesting how the experiences of elite athletes sometimes overlap. Logan Cotton McGuinness started his pugilistic education in a manner similar to Gardiner, at fourteen years of age. ?My older brother Chandler had heard about the new boxing gym in our hometown of Orangeville, Ontario, and started training there,? said McGuinness. ?He was actually the first fighter to come out of the Big Tyme gym. I followed him one day after school and fell in love with the sport.?
