Gary Antuanne Russell Survives Rough Night with Andy Hiraoka
In the first defense of his title, WBA super lightweight champion Gary “The Last” Russell (19-1, 17 KO’s) secured a dubious unanimous decision win over Japanese import Andy “Da Blade” Hiraoka. When the final scorecards were read, the judges awarded the win to Russell to the tune of 117-110, 116-111, and 116-111.
Over the first half of the duel, Hiraoka used his wheels to motor around the ring and shoot shots at his leisure. While on the go, Russell was finding it somewhat difficult to work on the inside. While following this script, each man had their moments but there was not too much to write home about.
Then, over the second half of the battle, Da Blade went in “cell block D” mode. Here he became dedicated to regularly shanking vicious body shots home. In the ninth round in particular, Hiraoka connected with a bounty of beautiful, heavy rib strikes. The Japanese fighter was rather quickly deducted a point in the tenth for a chilling low blow.
In symmetry with the rest of the second half, Russell ended the match against the ropes fighting Hiraoka off him. Despite the hammering he absorbed, The Last was gifted the sizable points victory. In his post-fight interview, Russell expressed interest in facing fellow champions Dalton Smith (WBC) and Richardson Hitchins (IBF).
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