By J. Arturo Contreras, notifight.com
"You are a great champion, now it's time to recover," said Robinson Castellanos to his countryman and former world champion Jhonny Gonzalez - after the Gary Russell Jr. captured the featherweight championship of the World Boxing Council (WBC) by knocking out Gonzalez on Saturday in Las Vegas.
As the mandatory challenger, Castellanos is now in line to face Russell next. Because of this fact, Castellanos studied every detail of Saturday's match.
"I saw Jhonny look concerned in the locker ... Maybe he struggled to make weight and failed to recover. He looked weak," said Castellanos, who earned the shot with big wins over Ronny Rios and Ricardo "Rocky" Juarez.
"By the fourth round, he was only being punished. But Johnny is a great champion and will recover soon.
Robinson's co-promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, is now going to press for him to get a title shot before the end of the year.
The Mexican veteran recognizes the good boxing and speed of Russell, however he places his trust in his power and ability to dethrone him.
"With a good strategy, I can win. I just need to be prepared, so I'm not going to wait. Let's find good leftie sparring partners and I'm going to box in the Federal District."
Castellanos and Russell have a victim in common: Mexican contender Christopher Perez. The Mexican took the undefeated through a points victory, while Russell knocked him out in three rounds.
