The competitive fire in Gary Russell Jr. burns a bit brighter than most. For the newly turned 35-year-old, he’s come to accept his defeat at the hands of Mark Magsayo. In part, Russell’s willingness to let it go stems from what he believes was an injustice on the night.
Over two years ago, they battled it out at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City. Before being able to find his rhythm, Russell’s right shoulder gave out on him. With the Maryland resident forced to fight the majority of their bout with one hand, Russell takes solace in his performance and believes that he should have been given the nod.
As the former featherweight title holder eyes his return to the ring, he concedes that his days of competing at 126 pounds have officially come to an end. Although he successfully defended his crown for well over five years, Russell (31-2, 18 KOs) reminisces about the opportunities that passed him by. Amongst those golden opportunities, Russell was hopeful that one day he would face Shakur Stevenson.
Ultimately, the two reigned atop the featherweight division at roughly the same time. In Stevenson’s case, however, his time at the summit of the featherweight mountain was transient. Now, the former Olympic silver medalist has officially planted his flag in the lightweight division. Although the likes of Gervonta Davis, Frank Martin, Devin Haney, and various others are considered the elite of the elite, Russell acknowledges that Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) is the man to beat at 135 pounds.
“I’m one of those people that give credit where credit is due,” Russell told BoxingScene.com. “I feel as though Shakur, out of all of them, is the nicest. I think he can fight better than any of them but with that being said, when Shakur’s little ass was at 126, I was on his line too. I was trying to get Shakur. Shakur moved from 126 and went to 130 real quick.”
As Russell alludes to, Stevenson didn’t waste much time at 126 pounds. Immediately after dominating Joet Gonzalez for the WBO crown in 2019, Stevenson dropped his freshly won title eight months later and moved up in weight. Still, despite the two being nowhere near each other in terms of their respective divisions, Russell reveals that if Stevenson is willing to face him, he’ll be more than ready to take him on next.
“He knows he can get it too.”