Gary Russell Enthusiastic On Fighting A Rematch With Mark Magsayo
Newly crowned WBC featherweight champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo (24-0, 16ko) has just dethroned “Mr.” Gary Russell (31-2, 18ko), bringing the longest title reign to an end. Magnifico scored the upset victory over the one-armed Russell, who craves a rematch.
FINALLY BACK IN THE RING AFTER A LONG LAYOFF
When the fight was ordered by the WBC, many inside the boxing community felt that an upset was possibly in the making. Mr., at the age of 33 years old, was coming off a 23-month layoff, the longest of his career. Yet, Russell has always found a way to come back from long periods of inactivity to dominate his opponents.
Since 2014, fans have often expressed frustration with the former champion for only fighting the mandatory challengers, resulting in him being in the ring once a year. Several boxing enthusiasts remained optimistic that Mr. Russell could pull off a victory based on the last performance by the Filipino against Julio Ceja back in August 2021.
Magnifico, fighting under the banner of future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, underperformed while facing adversity. He would be knocked to the the canvas and be saved by the bell in the fifth round. He went on to score a Hollywood scripted knockout in the tenth round, saving himself from taking a possible defeat on the judges’ scorecards.
AN INJURY THAT CHANGED IT ALL
During the fight, the broadcast team revealed that Russell told them in the fighters meeting that he suffered an injury in training camp. Nevertheless, he decided to go forward with the fight believing in his ability to win.
Everything was going well until Russell grimaced in pain in the fourth. Moreover, fans watching the fight couldn’t help but notice that he stopped using his right hand. Being recast as a one-armed fighter, Mr. fought like a true champion and was scoring at will with the left hand.
Magsayo would begin to turn it on in the championship rounds landing noteworthy body shots while being the aggressor in a close fight. At the conclusion of the contest, one scored it a draw as the other two saw it 115-113 for Magnifico.
WILL THEY REMATCH?
During the post-fight interview, a jubilated Magsayo, when asked if he would rematch the former champion, deferred to the usual whatever-my-team-decides response. Russell did not hold back on wanting a rematch after revealing that he indeed injured the right shoulder during the fight.
“I couldn’t use my right arm, but I was still able to land effective shots and touch him at will…I fought with one arm. He [Magsayo] had his hands full with a fighter with one arm the whole fight. I gave him a boxing lesson.”
The former champion gave an emphatic statement when asked about a rematch.
“Hell yeah! Would he want a rematch? That’s the question.”
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By: Garrisson Bland
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