Notebook: Russell emerging from 2-year hibernation to face Magsayo

Fury-Whyte update; Shields preps for U.K. debut; Harper-Hardy added to Wood-Conlan card; Quick hits, Show and tell

Jan 20, 2022

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Even Punxsutawney Phil emerges once per year from Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to perform his job on Groundhog’s Day of letting us know how long much longer the winter season will last.

In 2021, Gary Russell Jr. did not even manage to make his annual appearance to do his job as WBC featherweight titlist.

Since boxing three times in 2014, including a one-sided decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko for a vacant featherweight world title, Russell has boxed just once per year from 2015 through 2020 and then did not fight at all last year.

Because of that level of inactivity — with no major injuries or promotional or management issues to use as a crutch — Russell is the longest reigning male titleholder in boxing, having claimed his belt by fourth-round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez on March 28, 2015.

Only five defenses have followed with No. 6 on deck against mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fight will be Russell’s first in 23 months.

The southpaw Russell (31-1, 18 KOs), 33, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, a supremely talented fighter — he was a 2008 U.S. Olympian, who is superb on defense and strong on offense — has attempted to characterize his inactivity as being caused by others being unwilling to fight him, although every other world titleholder has managed to find opposition.

“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.”

The most recent long Russell layoff has been exacerbated by a difficult training camp. His father, Gary Russell Sr., 62, the lifelong trainer of Gary Jr. and his boxing brothers, had one of his feet amputated last month due to complications from diabetes. Because of that, Russell Sr. has been absent from much of his son’s training camp.

“Camp has been hectic, man,” Russell Jr. said. “It’s been a lot going on. You know, pops, he’s been dealing with amputation. He got his foot amputated. He’s my coach as well as my dad. I’ve been somewhat training myself. And then my father, his health isn’t the best, so he’s getting in the gym as much as possible. But we grinding, man. We ready. No complaints, no whining. We gonna get to it.

“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.”

It remains to be seen if Russell Sr. will be able to attend the fight. Either way, it will be Gary’s younger brothers — bantamweight contender Gary Antonio Russell and junior welterweight prospect Gary Antuanne Russell — who will be in his corner on fight night along with longtime assistant trainer Rodrigo Mosquera.

Russell will be facing a big puncher in Manny Pacquiao-promoted Magsayo (23-0, 16 KOs), 26, of the Philippines, who earned the title shot thanks to his massive 10th-round knockout of former junior featherweight titlist Julio Ceja on the Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas undercard on Aug. 21 in Las Vegas. Magsayo, who is trained by Freddie Roach, rallied from a fifth-round knockdown.

“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.”

Magsayo said he is excited for the title opportunity and plans to become the next fighter from the Philippines to win a world title.

“I’ve been training for three and a half months now, so I’m going to be well prepared for this fight,” Magsayo said. “I don’t think Gary has faced anyone since he became champion that has the skills that I have. I’m going to go in there to show him something he’s never seen before and we’ll see how he reacts.

“I learned a lot from the Ceja fight. That gave me a lesson on how to adjust in the middle of a fight. It’s going to help me against Russell. I respect Gary Russell Jr. He’s a great champion, but I’m winning this fight. I want to prove to the people everywhere that I’m the best featherweight in the world. I’m going to show the world that I’m the best at this weight. This is the fight that I’ve wanted for a long time.

“I’m not trying to be the next Manny Pacquiao, but I’m trying to put my own mark on the history of this sport and for all Filipinos. I’m hungry to prove it all in the ring.”

The undercard

In the co-feature, New York-based Russian junior welterweight Petros Ananyan (16-2-2, 7 KOs), 33, and Subriel Matias (17-1, 17 KOs), 29, of Puerto Rico, will meet in a 12-round rematch. They first met in February 2020 on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder II undercard in Las Vegas and Ananyan knocked Matias down and won a close, upset 10-round decision.

There has been a change to the 10-round featherweight opener. It will feature Los Angeles-based Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-2, 9 KOs), 29, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist from Mongolia, but he will take on late replacement Sakaria Lukas (25-1, 17 KOs), 37, of Namibia, who took the fight earlier this week after Vic Pasillas (16-1, 9 KOs) was forced out because of a positive Covid-19 test.

Nyambayar lost a unanimous decision challenging Russell for his title in February 2020, won his next fight but then dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Colbert in an interim junior lightweight title bout in July.

Arum on Fury-Whyte

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Tyson Fury’s co-promoter with Frank Warren, said he is hopeful they can wrap up a deal with WBC interim titlist and mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte ahead of the looming purse.

The purse bid for the fight was initially scheduled for Tuesday but the WBC postponed it for logistical reason until Friday at its offices in Mexico City as well as via video conference.

Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs), 33, of England, is entitled to 80 percent of the winning bid. British countryman Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), 33, is due to receive 20 percent of the winning bid but he is in arbitration with the WBC over the split, which is usually much larger for an interim champion and/or a mandatory challenger.

Whether they can make a deal, or the promotional rights to the fight are auctioned off to the highest bidder at a purse bid, Arum said he wants Fury to next face Whyte.

I spoke to Arum about the efforts to make the fight, the date and location on hold for the fight if it is made and having Fury return to fight in the United Kingdom after having had five bouts in a row in the United States, and wrote about it for World Boxing News. Please read that story here: https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2022/01/19/tyson-fury-bob-arum-whyte-deal-date/amp/

Shields eyes Marshall

Claressa Shields, the unified women’s middleweight champion, is on course to meet titlist Savannah Marshall for the undisputed title later this year in an effort to avenge her only loss (as a pro or amateur) and to once again become the undisputed champion.

Shields (11-0, 2 KOs), 26, of Flint, Michigan, was undisputed but gave up a belt that Marshall eventually won. But before Shields can face England’s Marshall (11-0, 9 KOs), who handed her an amateur loss, she has to retain her belts against Ema Kozin (21-0-1, 11 KOs), 23, of Slovenia, on Feb. 5 (3 p.m. ET, FITE in U.S., Sky Sports in U.K.) at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff in Wales, where middleweight contenders Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Williams meet in the main event.

Shields, who signed with co-promoter Boxxer and the U.K.’s Sky Sports to pave the way to a fight with Marshall, hopes her rival is in attendance Feb. 5.

“I hope Savannah Marshall shows up at the fight. She can jump up in the ring after I win and talk some stuff,” Shields said at a media workout on Tuesday in Detroit. “But talking doesn’t win fights, training does. She’s going to see a great performance and I’m going to prove that I haven’t been running from her. We’ve been chasing her.”

The fight next month will be Shields’ first pro bout outside the United States.

“When you fight in a different country, you have to do your research on a lot of things and start doing things differently,” Shields said. “We’re going to train in Las Vegas for a week so that I can get used to the altitude in Cardiff.

“This is my first time fighting in another country professionally, but I’ve fought in at least 10 different countries already. I won (Olympic) gold medals in London and in Rio. I’ve been everywhere.”

Harper vs. Hardy

Former world titleholders Terri Harper and Heather Hardy will meet for a regional lightweight on the undercard of the Leigh Wood-Michael Conlan secondary featherweight title bout on March 12 (DAZN) at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, Matchroom Boxing announced.

Harper (11-1-1, 6 KOs), 25, of England, is moving up in weight following losing her title via fourth-round knockout to Alicia Baumgardner in November.

“Heather Hardy is a real icon in female boxing,” Harper said. “When I first turned professional she was world champion and I loved watching her fights. She’s super tough and always gives 100 percent in the ring. I used to ask (promoter) Eddie (Hearn) if I could fight in the States, it’s my dream to fight there and when I was champion I’d have loved to have defended my title against her. She is a big name with a big following and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share a ring with her. I wish her all best in training camp and look forward to fight week.”

Former featherweight titlist Hardy (22-2, 4 KOs), 39, of Brooklyn, New York, will fight outside of the United States for the first time as she seeks to bounce back from back-to-back decision losses.

“I’ve been in the game a long time and in the last year or so I realized I was just going through the motions,” Hardy said. “I wasn’t in love anymore, I wasn’t obsessed. I got caught up in the business of the sport and it made me lose my heart. I'm genuinely grateful for this opportunity. Not everyone gets a second chance, especially at my age. I get to be on this stage, on this platform, with one more chance to show myself and the world what I can do.”

Quick hits

IBF junior bantamweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs), 30, a southpaw from the Philippines, will make his 10th defense on the undercard of the fight between junior lightweight titlist Roger Gutierrez and mandatory challenger Chris Colbert on Feb. 26 (Showtime) at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, multiple sources with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite about a card that has not been announced yet. Ancajas’ opponent is not set but the target is Fernando Martinez (13-0, 8 KOs), 30, of Argentina, one of the sources said. Ancajas was supposed to have faced Japan’s Kazuto Ioka in a unification fight on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo, but the spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19 caused Japan to close its borders to foreign travelers, leaving Ancajas unable to get into the country and Ioka to face a late substitute.

Manager Tim VanNewhouse has signed 13-time amateur national champion Daniel Blancas, 20, of Milwaukee. “It’s all about working with the right people, and I believe we have built a strong team,” said the 6-foot-4 Blancas, who began boxing at age 8. “I am ready to make my pro debut and take the steps necessary to follow my dream of becoming a world champion.” VanNewhouse said a promotional deal and date for Blancas’ pro debut will be announced in the coming weeks. He added that he has followed Blancas for several years. “Soon everyone will see his fan-friendly style and I expect we will see a bunch of knockouts from him,” VanNewhouse said.

Show and tell

Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad were two of the biggest stars of their time. Jones won world titles in four divisions from middleweight to heavyweight (he skipped over cruiserweight) and Trinidad won titles in three divisions from welterweight to middleweight. Had Trinidad defeated Bernard Hopkins in their 2001 fight for the undisputed middleweight title, the plan was for Trinidad to move up in weight and face then-light heavyweight king Jones. Hopkins, of course, stopped Trinidad and there went the fight, at least when they were still at the top of the sport.

But years later, with Jones faded and Trinidad coming out of a nearly three-year retirement — but both still with huge names and devout fan bases — promoter Don King put the fight together at 170 pounds. Given where both fighters were in their careers it had no right to be as big as it was, but nostalgia sells. They put on a big-time promotion that had many genuinely excited to see these greats in the ring with each other at New York’s Madison Square Garden. In the end, 12,162 turned out and another 500,000 bought the fight on HBO PPV to see what ended up being a pretty entertaining fight, which I covered at ringside. Jones, however, largely dominated. He knocked Trinidad down in the seventh and 10th rounds and won 117-109, 116-110, 116-110. Trinidad retired for good after the fight and although Jones would fight for another 10 years it was the last significant victory of his legendary career. Here is a really cool promotional cardboard standee in my collection from the fight, which took place on Jan. 19, 2008 — 14 years ago on Wednesday.

Russell photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime; Shields photo: Salita Promotions

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