Gary Russell Jr.

Gary Allen Russell Jr. (born June 5, 1988) is an American professional boxer who held the WBC featherweight title from 2015 to 2022.

As of October 2022, he is ranked as the world's seventh best active featherweight by The Ring magazine, fourth by BoxRec, and fifth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

As an amateur boxer, Russell won a bantamweight bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships.

Russell Jr. made his professional debut against Antonio Reyes on January 16, 2009.

He amassed a 24–0 record during the next five years, with fourteen of those fights coming by way of stoppage.

In 2011, he was named Prospect of the Year by The Ring, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN.

He is the older brother of boxers Gary Antonio Russell and Gary Antuanne Russell, who compete at bantamweight and light welterweight, respectively.

Russell's quest for a medal ended prematurely as he missed the Olympic weigh-in hours after losing consciousness in his Olympic Village dorm room.

Gary ended his amateur career with a record of 163-10.

On March 20, 2014, the WBO ordered Russell Jr. to face Vasiliy Lomachenko for the vacant featherweight title.

As the two sides were unable to come to terms regarding the fight, a purse bid was called, which Golden Boy won with a bid of $1,052,500, while Top Rank bid $1,050,000.

The fight took place on 21 June at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Lomachenko defeated Russell Jr. via twelve-round majority decision to win the vacant WBO featherweight title.

Judge Lisa Giampa scored the fight a 114–114 draw, but judges Max DeLuca and Pat Russell scored the fight 116–112 in favour of Lomachenko.

The fight averaged 578,000 viewers.

On January 15, 2015, rumors surfaced that the reigning WBC featherweight champion Jhonny González would make his third title defense against Russell Jr. The title bout was officially announced as the event headliner of a Top Rank card held on March 28, 2015, at the Pearl Concert Theater in Paradise, Nevada.

It was broadcast by Showtime domestically in the United States and by Mexico Televisa in Mexico.

Russell Jr. entered the second title bout of his career as a slight favorite, with most odds-makers having him as a -175 to -190 betting favorite.

He won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout.

Russell Jr. knocked González down twice in the third round, both times with a counter left.

He once again knocked González down early on in the fourth round, before forcing referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight with a flurry of unanswered punches.

Russell Jr. out-landed his opponent 59 to 14 in total punches, with a higher percentage of accurate shots.

He expressed his desire to face Lomachenko in a rematch during the post-fight interview, stating: "I’m back in the gym on Monday, we’re definitely looking to get Lomachenko again".

Russell Jr. was tentatively scheduled to face mandatory title challenger Óscar Escandón in his first title defense, sometime in November of 2015.

He was later forced to withdraw, due to injuries suffering in training.

Russell Jr. was rescheduled to face Patrick Hyland in his first title defense on April 16, 2016, thirteen months after winning the belt.

The title bout was booked as the event headliner of a card that took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Montville, Connecticut, and was broadcast by Showtime in United States and Canal Space in Latin America.

Russell Jr. entered the bout as an overwhelming -5000 favorite to retain the belt, while Hyland was a +2000 underdog.

He justified his role as the betting favorite, winning the fight by a second-round knockout.

Hyland was knocked down three times by the 1:33 minute mark of the second round, prompting referee Danny Schiavone to wave the fight off.

Russell Jr. was expected to make his second WBC title defense against the interim featherweight champion Óscar Escandón on February 18 at the U.S Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Escandón withdrew from the bout on March 1, after suffering a back injury.

Although the fight was initially postponed for April of the same year, Escandón's need for additional recovery time pushed back the fight date until May 27.

The venue was likewise changed to the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Russell Jr. once again entered a title defense as the favorite to retain, but a smaller once compared to his previous fight, with most odds-makers having him a -1400 favorite.

In front of a crow of 2345 people, Russell Jr. retained the featherweight strap by a seventh-round technical knockout.

Russell Jr. dominated the bout from the start, with his most dominant round being the third, in which he dropped Escandón with a right uppercut and which one of the judges scored as a 10–7.

He finally stopped Escandón with a right hook to the temple at the 0:59 minute mark of the seventh round, which left him unable to continue fighting.

Russell Jr.'s second title defense averaged 481 000 viewers on Showtime, and peaked at 517 000.

On March 13, 2018, the WBC ordered Russell Jr. to make his third title defense against the #1 ranked featherweight contender and mandatory title challenger Joseph Diaz.