Sports Review Cotton-McGuinness title fight

Orangeville boxer Logan Cotton- McGuinness successfully defended his North American Boxing Association lightweight title Friday night (June 24) during the main event at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.
Cotton-McGuinness went the full ten rounds with challenger Daniel Ruiz from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, in a gruelling battle that ended with a majority decision.
Ruiz came to the ring with a 22-2- 1 record.
Two judges scored the fight 96-94 with the third judge calling it a draw at 95-95.
After the first two rounds that had both fighters looking strong, Cotton- McGuinness pinned Ruiz in the corner in the fourth and delivered a series of punishing combinations to end the round.
Cotton-McGuinness hammered Ruiz in the sixth and ended the round with a flurry and Ruiz up against the ropes.
But the tenacious Mexican was far from finished and delivered a hard right in round number eight that buckled the champion’s knees, then followed up with a left that rattled Cotton-McGuinness and had him struggling to stay on his feet.
The final round again saw Ruiz take control and Cotton- McGuinness in real trouble.
Cotton-McGuinness looked dazed and
unsteady and was bleeding from a cut that
had opened up over his left eye in the
eighth round.
Pinned in the neutral corner and looking
like he might drop any second,
Cotton-McGuinness supporters started
yelling for him to ‘take a knee’ for an
eight count.
But he stayed on his feet and finished the
final minute of the fight trading blows with
Ruiz.
Ruiz had control of the fight in the final
three rounds, and while waiting the
decision it looked as if he might come
up with a win.
But Cotton-McGuinness retained his title
on points and his strong showing in the
first seven rounds of the bout.
“I had to clear my head, my hands were
down, but I hung on,” Cotton- McGuinness
said of the eighth round right hook that
almost dropped him to the canvas. “I felt pretty sluggish when I went in the ring tonight,” he added.
Despite being pummeled in the tenth, he said going for a standing eight count just isn’t his style.
“It was a tough round but there was no ‘quit’ in me,” he said.
Ruiz came to the Hershey Centre with 16 KO’s to his credit and the ability to withstand a lot of punishment.
“We didn’t see much footage of him before the fight,” Cotton- McGuinness said of his camp’s attempt to scout his opponent. “But it was one of my toughest fights to date.”
Cotton- McGuinness’ next bout is scheduled for August 27, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. His opponent will be Benoit Gaudet - a 31 yearold from Drummondville, Quebec who currently has a 24-2 record.