Alberto Puello Takes Split Decision Over Gary Antuanne Russell
In one action-packed prizefight, junior welterweight fighter Alberto “La Avispa” Puello (23-0, 10 KO’s) defeated Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KO’s) by way of split decision.
After taking the first couple of rounds to acclimate to his southpaw foe, Russell began picking up the pace in the third. He cut the distance with a rapidfire jab and frequently pushed Puello to the ropes. In response, Puello provided a smoothly moving target, who targeted the body very well.
By the middle rounds, Puello was seemingly in control. Russell, in large part, forgot about his jab and came charging in behind a bevy of power shots only. As the match crept in the back half of the duel, Russell settled himself and resumed effectively pressuring Puello which resulted in him regularly being pushed to the ropes. In the ninth, referee Alan Huggins abruptly deducted a point from Puello for a holding. While he had been warned for this infraction, there never had been a hard warning and the deduction seemed rather unwarranted.
The final three rounds were a flurry of punches that saw both men ardently try to chop down their opponent. In the tenth, Puello suffered a low blow and the action paused for a few seconds. Later in the twelfth, Russell would go down due to a questionable low blow. Ultimately, Puello would retain his undefeated record when he was awarded a split decision. The scores were 118-109 (Russell) and 115-112, 114-113 for Puello. With the win, Puello became the interim WBC junior welterweight champion.
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