Gary Russell Jr. Firm on Goals: Unifications, Lomachenko - Twice
By Lyle Fitzsimmons, photo by Ryan Greene
Gary Russell Jr. admires Bernard Hopkins.
But by no means does he want to be Bernard Hopkins.
Even as a Saturday night defense against Oscar Escandon draws nearer, the WBC’s featherweight title-holder is already – at age 28 – pondering his career’s final stages.
“I plan on finishing this career within the next three years or so,” he told BoxingScene. “That’s about it. Thirty-one, maybe, tops. I’ll be 29 next month. We definitely want to start picking up the action so we can be able to sit back and live off the fruits of my labor.”
Russell was four months old when Hopkins began a four-decade run back in 1988 and last fought in April 2016, about eight months before “The Alien’s” inglorious swan song – at age 51 – against Joe Smith Jr.
And though both he and the former two-division champ have nurtured a tidy nest egg with the proceeds of their ring work, the younger man doesn’t feel the need to labor another 20 years before spending it.
“We’ve been very, very strategic with business outside of boxing. Boxing is what I do, it’s not who I am as an individual,” Russell said. “We just use boxing as a vehicle to get us close to what we want. We’ve made very, very wise business decisions outside of boxing. We’re good.”
But if you think the executive has edged out the competitor, here’s a suggestion:
Forget it.
In fact, all that’s needed to get Russell’s fire burning is the mention of a certain Ukrainian.
“I would love to unify against the other world champions (at featherweight),” he said, “and before the end of my career I would definitely like to compete against Mr. Lomachenko twice.”
Lest anyone forget, a then-.500 fighter named Vasyl Lomachenko – fresh off a loss to Orlando Salido barely three months earlier – won eight of 12 rounds on a pair of scorecards against while capturing the WBO’s vacant 126-pound title against Russell in June 2014.
He defended three times before leaping to 130 and climbing to the coveted single digits on many respected pound-for-pound rankings lists. Meanwhile, the loss drove Russell to the sport’s backwoods in Shelton, Washington before he bounced back for a WBC title win against Jhonny Gonzalez.
The Gonzalez win resurrected public perception of Russell, elevated him to No. 2 on Ring Magazine’s featherweight list and led nicely into a second-round thrashing of Patrick Hyland in a title defense.
But the blemish on a 28-fight resume remains an itch the Washington, D.C. can’t wait to scratch.
“That’s definitely the one that I want to get done,” he said. “The only reason why Lomachenko is even mentioned – and I feel as though he’s put somewhat on a pedestal in his professional career as of now – was based upon the fact that he competed against Mr. Gary Russell Jr.
“He lost to Salido. No one knew who he was coming into the professional game. I can’t take away from what he accomplished in the amateurs – by him being an Olympian, etc. – but as far as him making his name known as a professional it was not a factor until he competed against Gary Russell Jr.”
First things first, though, Escandon awaits.
The 32-year-old Colombian has ascended to the ever-dubious “interim” championship level at both 122 and 126 pounds, in spite of a 3-2 record in his last five fights since a 22-0 start.
He rose from the floor to erase Robinson Castellanos in his most recent outing 14 months ago, and arrives to the MGM National Harbor this weekend in possession of Russell’s undivided attention.
“He’s a complete competitor. He’s going to push himself physically to the limit,” the champion said. “He’s rough. He’s rugged. He’s going to have a level of endurance. He’s going to attempt to bully his way through this fight and try to make it an ugly fight as much as he possibly can.”
But the latter tactic, according to Russell anyway, could be his undoing.
“He’s going to put himself in the situation where he’ll be much more susceptible to get hit with clean, flush, hard shots,” he said. “When you have these straightforward guys you don’t have to look for your shots. They’re running right into you.
“Sometimes you throw shots without the intent of them being hard but just his forward momentum makes your shot even harder than what you really expected to make it.”
