Gary Russell’s Life is like boxing

Gary Russell jr is the current world champion of the World Boxing Council with the longest time holding that status.

He became the WBC featherweight champion defeating Jhonny González in 2015. Since then he has successfully defended his crown 5 times defeating Oscar Escandon, Joseph Diaz (then undefeated), Kiko Martínez and Tugstogt Nyambayar (then undefeated).

This Saturday he will have a tough test, as he will be facing the 2021 WBC Revelation of the Year, Mark Magsayo, who is distinguished by his great punching power and for being promoted by Manny Pacquiao.

Experience vs. youth; Despite Magsayo being a hard puncher, Russell has always stood out for his aesthetic boxing, his sharp defense, but also his explosive offense. Without a doubt, this Saturday we will see one of the best fights of the year.

This is what the great WBC featherweight champion commented a few days before his meeting:

“I’ve been willing to compete against whoever, whenever and wherever. But I can’t force these guys to get in the ring and fight me,” Russell said recently, using his go-to comment. “I just have to prepare to the best of my ability. I need a dance partner.

“A lot of these other guys aren’t willing to step in there with me because of the skill set that I bring. Finally, we have another fighter (Magsayo) with some heart who’s willing to fight. I want him to bring his best, so we’ll see whose best is best.”

“I tell people all the time that life is like boxing. You have to keep your chin down and hands up. I’m grateful that I’m mentally strong when it comes to stuff like this. This is what champions do, we overcome adversity.

“He has good punching power, but none of that matters if you can’t hit your target,” Russell said. “I don’t have any concerns with Magsayo’s power. You very seldom see me have to come back on the scorecards. Magsayo had to come back in his last fight because he was losing on the cards. That shows some holes in his armor.”