Gary Russell Jr. entered last night’s fight almost a year removed from a tough loss to Vasyl Lomachenko. Before that loss Russell was looked at as one of the most dominate prospects in the featherweight division. Last night he showed why many spoke of his talent so highly.
Russell saw his second chance of obtaining a major featherweight title standing across from him at from across the ring in the form of Johnny Gonzalez.
Many, including myself, expected the match with Gonzalez to be a drag out fight and for it to come down to a close decision, because that’s what Russell Jr. had been accustomed to lately. Gary Russell Jr. had something different in mind though.
Russell Jr. knocked down Gonzalez 3 times and the last came in the 4th round. He dominated every second of the fight and didn’t allow Gonzalez to breath. He didn’t wand to allow the judges to determine his fate again, one split decision loss was his lesson.
He made sure the judges couldn’t take this belt away from him and that killer instinct was the last missing piece from his very developed skill set.
Russell will have the opportunity now to be showcased on some of PBC’s larger showcases and prove that he still has the ability to be one of the faces of boxing’s future.
In the other fight of the night Jermell Charlo defeated Vanes Martirosyan by unanimous decision to remain undefeated.
Charlo began slowly but used a patient approach to wear down Vanes and outpoint him. The most optimistic part of his performance was his ability to slip punches and counter continuously with his jab. He danced around the ring at will and showed defensive prowess rarely seen at 154lbs. In a division currently filled with heavy hitters Charlo will need to use his defense to keep him in fights. It’d be great to see more pop on his punches but maybe that’s not his game.
We can expect to see Charlo again soon and maybe then we will see his defense tested by a better opponent.