Gary Russell Jr. Defends on October 24 on Showtime
Sep 17, 2015 • 8:26 AM ET
By Carlos Boogs
According to Showtime Sports head Stephen Espinoza, WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15 KOs) will defend his title against an opponent to be announced on October 24th.
Russell captured the title on Showtime back in March, when he knocked out Jhonny Gonzalez within four rounds at the Palms in Las Vegas. Gonzalez went down three times before the fight was waved off.
Russell's mandatory challenger is Mexico's Robinson Castellanos (21-10, 13KOs). He won a final WBC eliminator, and the sanctioning organization's silver title in January with a twelve round decision over Rocky Juarez. Prior to that, last October, he knocked out undefeated Ronny Rios in five rounds.
The WBC has yet to issue an ordered which directs Russell and Castellanos to face each other. The Mexican boxer is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who do no business with Russell's manager/adviser Al Haymon.
