Russell loses decision in muay thai debut
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- Published on Thursday, December 1, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Logan Russell’s muay thai debut didn’t go exactly as planned, as he was defeated via decision on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the K-Town Throwdown in Kenora. The Neepawa product was facing Logan MacDonald (two wins - one loss), who has been a muay thai specialist for several years.
Boxe Neepawa Combat and Fitness Club owner and operator Derek Pearson, who worked Russell’s corner, said the experience of the opponent swayed the advantage early.
“In the first round, the experience of MacDonald was a big disadvantage. [MacDonald] was able to set the tempo early and get [Russell] back on his heels a bit,” noted Pearson. “MacDonald came out aggressively and was able to register a early knock down. To Logan’s credit though, he got up from that, finished out the round and was able to keep focused throughout the rest of the fight.”
Pearson noted that as the fight progressed, Russell began to settle into a groove and start setting up his strikes more effectively.
“The second round was still recovery mode for[Russell], early on. But, he was able to create some space and counterpunch well. In the third, I think that was his best round. He was starting to find the holes in MacDonald’s guard and land some solid strikes. MacDonald was tiring while [Russell] still had a lot of gas in the tank. I think if the fight had gone another few rounds, it would have swung his way,” said Pearson.
As for what’s next for Russell, Pearson said this fight was a great experience, as it showed them exactly what could be improved upon and more importantly, that he can compete in this fighting genre.
“The main takeaway from all this, is that he can do this. He can compete with experienced martial artists, because that’s what he did on Saturday. He just needs to remember that he’s just 18 years-old and most of the guys in the game have years of muay thai specific experience, so the future is still bright.”
