BROOKLYN, New York – There are now two fighters with the name Gary Russell who have been world champions.
Gary Antuanne Russell joined his older brother Gary Russell Jnr among the list of boxers who have held world titles, punishing Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela in a one-sided, unanimous decision win to lift the WBA junior welterweight title Saturday here at Barclays Center.
Two judges found a round to give Valenzuela, with cards of 119-109, while the third had it a shutout, at 120-108.
The crowd in attendance – filled to maximum capacity to witness fellow DMV-region boxers Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jnr in the main event – erupted in applause as the words “and the new” left the mouth of Jimmy Lennon Jnr.
Russell, 18-1 (17 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was clearly the stronger fighter from the outset, bullying Valenzuela, 14-3 (9 KOs), in close and swarming him with activity. Russell’s power made its first big impression on Valenzuela at the end of the fourth as a right hook wobbled him.
Russell continued to press his advantage into the middle rounds, rocking Valenzuela along the ropes in the fifth with an uppercut, closing out the round with a triple hook. Russell seemed to be closing in on a stoppage in the seventh round as an uppercut knocked Valenzuela’s head back, leaving him an open target for his opponent’s shorter punches.
The pattern continued into the eighth as two straight left hands sent Valenzuela into the ropes, his swollen eyes struggling to see the blows coming his way. By this point, Valenzuela was spending just as much time in between rounds speaking to the ringside physician, Dr. Nitin Sethi, as he was his own trainer.
Valenzuela would not go out without a fight, however. Midway through the 12th round, Valenzuela had his best success of the fight, stunning Russell with an uppercut and knocking his mouthpiece out with a straight left. Russell still had more fight in him by the final bell, once again rocking Valenzuela into the ropes to punctuate his victory.
The win was a strong bounce-back for the 28-year-old Russell, who was coming off his first pro defeat, a split decision loss to Alberto Puello last June.
The loss halted the career momentum of the 25-year-old Valenzuela, who was coming off back-to-back victories, over Chris Colbert and Isaac Cruz, which had followed consecutive defeats, to Edwin De Los Santos and Colbert.
The fight streamed live on Amazon Prime pay-per-view and PPV.com.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
