Gary Russell has fight date to face Mark Magsayo
WBC featherweight champion “Mr.” Gary Russell Jr (31-1, 18 KO’s) is set to return to the ring, to face the challenge of Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo (23-0, 16 KO’s), on January 22, 2022. The two pugilists will clash at the Borata Hotel Casino, located in Atlantic City in a match to be televised on SHOWTIME. As reported by 3kingsboxing, the bout was initially ordered by the WBC back in September, yet clearly there was not a date announcement at that time.
While Russell has acquired the unfortunate practice of only fighting once a year, he will have been out of action for newly two full years on January 22. When last in the ring, on February 8, 2020, the fantastically talented boxer plucked up a comfortable unanimous decision win over Tugstsogt Nyambayar. Prior to that, Mr. had only fought a single bout per year for the previous five years.
TEST OF MIGHT
The upcoming duel with Magsayo, who is ranked #1 (WBO), #2 (WBC) and #5 (IBF), will mark the sixth defense of his WBC title. Mr. initially obtained the strap when he roughed up and stopped Jhonny Gonzalez in the fourth period of their March 28, 2015 dustup. Now he will take on the tough Filipino fighter, whose corner will be helmed by chief second Freddie Roach.
Magsayo will enter the bout following a hard-fought tenth round stoppage of Julio Ceja. While he is both, quite capable and tenacious in the ring, it is yet to be seen if Magnifico has the goods to dethrone the long-standing champion. The Filipino bruiser has shown on more than one occasion that he can be placed on the canvas as he was in his last bout with Ceja. Yet, it’s always a bad idea to blindly count anyone out in boxing, so let’s see how all the action plays out in the ring!
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By: Bakari Simpson
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