Gary Russell Jr.: record, next fight and profile →
Gary Russell Jr. was all smiles as he strolled to the ring on January 22nd, earlier this year. Standing across from the Maryland native at the Borgata, Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, was the then-undefeated and unheralded, Mark Magsayo.
Gary Russell Jr. recognizes that one of his unbeaten younger brothers, Gary Antuanne Russell, isn’t a complete product. The former WBC featherweight champion still feels that the hard-hitting junior welterweight contender can beat anyone in his division. Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) will work toward proving his older brother
By Cliff Rold - Tucked little more than a stoplight from a bustle of commercial activity in a major shopping area, there is a square space that could be confused for a warehouse or garage to a casual passer-by. It is something else altogether.
Gary Russell Sr., a respected trainer who guided his son, Gary Jr., to the 2008 Summer Olympics and the WBC featherweight title, has died. BoxingScene.com confirmed that Russell, 63, died Monday.
Leo Santa Cruz would welcome a fight with the newly crowned champion who upset Gary Russell Jr. next. If Russell gets the opportunity to fight Mark Magsayo again, though, the four-division champion considers a subsequent bout with Russell viable if Russell were to win back his title. Russell didn’t have a rematch clause in his contract for the Magsayo bout because the WBC doesn’t allow such items in deals for mandated title fights.
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Mark Magsayo doesn’t have a contractual obligation to grant Gary Russell Jr. a rematch. Though free to fight any contender ranked within the top 15 by the WBC in his first title defense, even Magsayo’s promoter admitted that Russell deserves a second shot at the newly crowned champion. Sean Gibbons, the president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, told BoxingScene.com following Magsayo’s upset of Russell that the undefeated Filipino champion should box Russell again.
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Gary Russell Jr. was stunned when Jimmy Lennon Jr. uttered the words, “And the new,” late Saturday night. Russell was certain that, even with just the use of one arm for eight-plus rounds, he had done more than enough to defeat Mark Magsayo in their 12-round, 126-pound title fight at Borgata Event Center. Judges Mark Consentino and Henry Grant disagreed.
One thing is likely after Saturday night. The WBC is going to see an increase in the number of times they collect sanctioning fees at featherweight. The long reign of Gary Russell Jr., boxing’s least active titlist over the last six years, is over. Russell made a game go of it, fighting largely one-handed for most of the fight and keeping it close until the end. Close wasn’t good enough.
Unbeaten Filipino Mark Magsayo pulled off a shocker in the featherweight division, when he unseated longtime titleholder Gary Russell Jr. by way of a twelve round majority decision to capture the WBC featherweight world championship.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J. - Gary Russell Jr. (31-2-1, 18 KOs) has had a history of injuries and inactivity. Everything caught up with him on Saturday night, when he lost his WBC featherweight title by way of a twelve round majority decision to undefeated mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs).