The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Meacher "Pain" Major said this is his time to shine as he prepares to travel to Mississauga in Ontario, Canada, on May 12 for the North American Boxing Association's super featherweight title bout against champion Logan Cotton McGuinness.

The duo are scheduled to square off in the 12-round main event at the Hershey Centre.

"First of all, I would have to give all honour and praise to God for this great opportunity," said Major in an interview with The Tribune from Buffalo, New York, where he is currently training.

"Thanks to our management team, Timothy Ziccardi and Zac Pomioli, for locking down this fight for me. I feel tremendously great at this point to get yet another shot to improve my ratings on the world stage, it takes me closer to that final goal of fighting for a world title."

The old-time Hershey Centre Fight Series card is presented by United Promotions in association with Hennessy Sports and the May 12 show continues the highly-successful third season of boxing which is comprised of three Ontario boxing promoters -Adam Harris (Hennessy Sports), Tyler Buxton (Buxton Promotions) and Don MacDonald.

"We are committed to this series and boxing fans are turning out on an increased basis to watch many of the best Ontario fighters," MacDonald said. "We're promoting as a unified group and the boxing scene here is exploding. We have three more shows booked this year. Our May 12 show promises to be the best yet from top to bottom."

McGuinness (16-0-1, 8 KOs), fighting out of nearby Orangeville, is coming off of his sensational come-from-behind NABA title victory against Benoit Gaudet last October.

McGuinness overcame a severe cut and trailed substantially in scoring but the 2012 NABA Fighter of the Year rallied and registered the knockout he needed in order to win the fight. The wildly popular 24-year-old McGuinness is rated No. 8 by the World Boxing Association ("WBA").

Major (20-4-1, 17 KOs) is a former WBA Fedecaribe and Bahamian lightweight champion. Now living in Buffalo, he is riding a four-fight win streak into his showdown with McGuinness. "McGuinness is one of the best, most exciting prospects in boxing, not just in Canada," said Jason Toufexis, director of boxing operations in Hennessy Sports Canada.

"He is a tremendous prospect who local fans are behind 100 per cent. Logan is closing in on a major fight, but he has to get past Major, who is a tough fighter that has valuable experience. We expect the Hershey Centre to be rocking once again May 12."

Major said he's eager to get in the ring against McGuinness, especially considering the fact that he's in the best shape of his life.

"I'm in a great frame of mind when it's time to step into the ring because I'm always mentally ready more so than physical at first," he said. "Training is going awesome. I have to really thank God for people like Gregory Storr, Nathaniel Knowles, Big Blue (Delwin Scott) and Cassius Moss. They punish me daily, so it doesn't feel as hard when I'm training abroad. They have instilled that real discipline in ways to go beyond the limitation while training."

Major is currently being trained by Ross Thompson, whom he feels knows what he's doing and understands his passion and dedication to improve his work ethic every day at the gym.

"I have to give credit to Ray Minus for the boxing style that he has taught me," Major said. "It gives me the edge over fighters during sparring in my prep for a big upcoming fight like this."

With the combination of experience and training in his corner, Major is confident that he will put on a great show in Canada.

"My expectation for this fight is one thing to win. I know I'm going into his homeland as the underdog. I have to take him out rather than put my faith in the judges' hands after 12 rounds of boxing," Major said. "We are aware of his style of fighting, so we are going into Canada to win and get that title.

"That's our goal, that's our mission. Only me can stop me from capturing that title. It's either now or never. Canada will see a fight like they last saw when Sugar Ray Leonard was there. This is my time to shine."

Major also expressed his thanks to his parents, family and fight fans for the support that they have given him in the past and asked that they continue to support him in this venture.