Las Vegas- Everyone is geared up for the highly anticipated showdown between Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Miguel Cotto and former two-time Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez.
Talent trumped experience. The protected was protected no more. The battle-tested veteran was vanquished. When it is a fighter’s turn to arrive at their moment, when the right cross section of athletic gifts and an opponent whose experience can’t trump them arrives, it’s fun to watch. Last year, Gary Russell Jr. found out there are opponents against whom his gifts are not enough. The internalization of that lesson was on display last Saturday night.
Fighting in his first Showtime headliner, Gary Russell claimed his first major title in the pro ranks with a 4th round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez at The Palms in Las Vegas. The bout headlined the March 28 edition of Showtime Championship Boxing, averaging 519,000 viewers over the course of the brief affair. The telecast peaked at 575,000 viewers.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Will the real Gary Russell Jr. please stand up? Is the 26-year-old still the athletically gifted but technically outmatched wannabe he portrayed nine months ago in a not-nearly-so-close-as-it-was-scored majority decision loss to Vasyl Lomachenko? Or is he now the multi-faceted assassin who took less than 10 in-ring minutes to detach veteran Jhonny Gonzalez from a tenuous connection to world-stage relevance on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The answer, as in many things, probably resides somewhere in the middle. But regardless of where one thinks the Washington, D.C. native rightfully belongs in the suddenly reconfigured mix at 126 pounds, there seems little reason to doubt that the featherweight ranks are entering a top-end golden age they’ve not seen in recent multi-belt memory. Russell’s four-round ascension made him the fourth 20-something to possess a recognized championship trinket in the weight class – 25-year-old Lusanda Komanisi is the IBO’s lesser-known title-holder – and the prospect of fellow youngsters Lomachenko (27, WBO), Nicholas Walters (29, WBA) and Evgeny Gradovich (28, IBF) dueling for premier jewelry is a tantalizing dream if not a reachable reality. And it doesn’t hurt that the division’s most-decorated non-champion – Abner Mares – is only 29. Russell, the former U.S. amateur kingpin, controlled the first two rounds against Gonzalez with his fast fists, but it was a thudding straight left followed by a sweeping right hook that sent his foe down in the third, and the wobbly Mexican never recovered – falling once more in the fourth before referee Tony Weeks stepped in to end matters just 37 seconds into the session.
By Jake Donovan - Gary Russell Jr. had been waiting since the morning of opening round competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to have the chance at making the world stand up and take notice at his in-ring performance. The D.C. native finally notched the first of what he expects to be several great moments in his career Saturday evening at the Palms in Las Vegas. A one-sided 4th round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez netted Russell a featherweight title, and a small dose of redemption for having failed miserably in his first attempt at such honors. “This is the kind of performance I always expect but don’t always get,’’ said Russell, whose previous bid at a belt ended with a 12-round loss to Vasyl Lomachenko last June. “If people only knew how hard we worked for this, the time we put in the gym, the mental and physical things we work on and put ourselves through every day. “There are always obstacles to overcome but for this fight I was 100 percent. This win is for all the people who have been with me from the beginning.’’ It came out during fight week in the days leading up to Saturday’s fight as to why Russell expected – and delivered – a far stronger performance. The claim from his camp was the manner in which he was asked to make weight prior to the Lomachenko fight – staying at full strength until 2-3 days before the weigh-in, at which point his unnamed strength and conditioning coach asked him to spend time in the sauna to shed the remaining weight above the limit.
LAS VEGAS – After coming close to world championship glory in 2014, Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15 KOs), a former United States amateur standout, delivered on his promise in impressive fashion Saturday night, knocking out defending champion Jhonny Gonzalez (57-9, 48 KOs), of Mexico City, in the fourth round in the main event of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader promoted by DiBella Entertainment at The Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort. The talented and quick-fisted southpaw Russell, who stood and exchanged with Gonzalez, utilized his overall speed to dominate. He dropped the veteran three times, once in the third and twice in the fourth before referee Tony Weeks waved off the fight 37 seconds into the round.
The Pearl, Palms Casino, Las Vegas - The second time is the charm. After losing out in his WBO world title fight last year with Vasyl Lomachenko, Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15KOs) blew out Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8, 48KOs) in four rounds to capture the WBC featherweight championship. Gonzalez was down three times. Russell started fast with quick jabs. Gonzalez had a tight defense and was looking for an opening, Russell's speed was a big factor in the opening round, as Gonzalez had trouble adjusting to the challenger's style. Russell started landing more frequently in the third and punctuated the round with an inside hook that dropped Gonzalez in the final seconds.
Gary Russell Jr. has felt fresher and stronger in the days leading up to his second title shot than he did during the buildup before he lost to Vasyl Lomachenko nine months ago. Russell believes the strength and conditioning program he followed in preparation for the Lomachenko match doomed him before he even set foot in the Stub Hub Center ring June 21 in Carson, Calif. The former American Olympian claims he was completely exhausted in the first round of a 12-round fight he lost to Ukraine’s Lomachenko (3-1, 1 KO) by majority decision.
Jhonny Gonzalez returns to the city that played host to his last defeat, while Gary Russell Jr. looks to exorcise the demons still lingering from last year’s letdown versus Vasyl Lomachenko, his lone test to date in an otherwise protected career. Yes, you can say both sides face must win situations ahead of their featherweight title fight Saturday evening at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will air live on Showtime (10:00pm ET). Gonzalez (57-8, 48KOs) attempts the third defense of the title he violently claimed in a 1st round upset knockout win over then-unbeaten Abner Mares in Aug. 2013. The moment registered as BoxingScene.com’s 2013 Upset of the Year, with Gonzalez extending his second featherweight title reign as he hopes to continue to sidestep Father Time.
The Gary Russell vs. Jhonny Gonzalez matchup is intriguing because everyone keeps referencing what Vasyl Lomanchenko did to Russell last year. But Lomanchenko is a once in a decade type of talent. Russell's biggest attribute is his hand speed, but Lomanchenko has more overall quickness than Russell which neutralized the speed. Lomanchenko also has great footwork which left Russell baffled. Gonzalez does not possess the qualities that Lomanchenko has. What Gonzalez does have is a solid punch and tons of experience. He is now in the middle of late career resurgence. He has loss just once in the last 6 years.