Undefeated Capitol Heights, MD featherweight "Mr." Gary Russell, Jr. has finally found an opponent for his November 26 bout in Cincinnati, OH. However, HBO did not believe that the opponent was worthy of a full slot on its airwaves and will only show highlights of Russell's (18-0, 10 KO's) bout with Dat Nguyen (17-2, six KO's).
According to ESPN.com, This took place after former Cuban amateur champion Luis Franco turned the bout down and a proposed bout between Russell and Philadelphia, PA junior featherweight Teon Kennedy was scrapped because of weight issues. Kennedy was willing to move from his natural junior featherweight to fight at 126 pounds but Russell's camp wanted a maximum weight at 127.
This is the third time Russell and HBO have clashed over issues. In September, HBO allowed him to face massive underdog Leonilo Miranda and agreed to his camp's request to reduce the bout from 10 rounds to eight, which was unprecedented in HBO history. In July, Russell was supposed to make his HBO debut on the undercard of Amir Khan's fight against Zab Judah, but when Russell's camp refused to make a fight HBO believed would be competitive, that bout also was downgraded to a highlight package.
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Mr. Haymon wants his money back, but is shit out of luck because Russell refuses to fight anyone with a heartbeat. Perhaps there is some truth to the previous comment concerning DC fighters. HBO is definately fed up with Russell and Mr. Hayman seems to be tired of thier bullshit too.
thank you mr. gary williams for telling it like it really is. some of us knew all along.
"Russell said no to 126 and HBO had OK'd the fight. It was the best fight they had on the table. If Teon Kennedy hadn't lost his last fight, Gary Russell wouldn't want to be in the same state with him.
"Kennedy has fought better fighters, he's ranked higher and he's more pleasing to watch. We're head and shoulders above anyone Russell has fought so far. He didn't want the fight."
ESPN NEWS:Issues with Russell are nothing new to HBO. In September, HBO allowed him to face massive underdog Leonilo Miranda and acquiesced to his camp's request to reduce the bout from 10 rounds to eight, which was unprecedented in HBO history. In July, Russell was supposed to make his HBO debut on the undercard of Amir Khan's fight against Zab Judah, but when Russell's camp refused to make a fight HBO believed would be competitive, that bout also was downgraded to a highlight package.
Russell's bout has been axed from the live broadcast and HBO will only show highlights of his bout against Dat Nguyen (17-2, 6 KOs), according to the network. The change comes because of issues over HBO's agreeing on an opponent it deemed worthy of the live broadcast. Things as this go on in boxing on a daily basis, fighters of new refuse to step up to the plate. You can teach a kid how to box, but they have yet been able to teach a kid to have a heart. Unfortunaley ir robs the fans of a decent fight.
You do know the kid is 23 years old right he's basically a baby, He only has 18 fights comparing him to berto is a bad thing? Berto is a very talented but ignorant and cocky fighter that dosen't use his true talent in the ring and doesen't want to train to improve his weaknesses russell on the other hand is young and should be built up by boxing the more top prospects that are built up the more future stars we have, I dont see people complaining about chavez jr fighting bums.
You do know the kid is 23 years old right he's basically a baby, He only has 18 fights comparing him to berto is a bad thing? Berto is a very talented but ignorant and cocky fighter that dosen't use his true talent in the ring and doesen't want to train to improve his weaknesses russell on the other hand is young and should be built up by boxing the more top prospects that are built up the more future stars we have, I dont see people complaining about chavez jr fighting bums.
no matter how skilled he is, he really hasn't done anything in professional boxing, and definitely not enough to be on HBO, which never used to put on 8 round fights between a prospect and a bum as a co-main event.
Plenty of people are complaining about JR. the point here is that if he's not ready for the next level, he's not ready for HBO. and if he's on HBO, then he's ready. now clearly, he's not ready, which is exactly why i have a problem with him being oh HBO and calling out and downright insulting Gamboa... and that's exactly the path that the career of Berto has followed and Ramos embarked on just recently
It's way too early for him. and that was a FNF,not HBO fight. Castillo vs Corrales fought on Showbox! the kid is obviously talented. But Gamboa and Donaire would've destroyed the guy he had problems with.
I like Russell Jr. but you are right he does not belong on HBO right now. He looked really bad against Miranda. I know he won every round but the shots that he took puts a big question, once he steps up in competition probably he is going to get hurt. After his last fight Russell Jr. should go back to obscurity and comeback in a couple of years. Right now he is not a world class fighter and definitely should not waste precious prime time television
I like him. but he needs to pay his dues and learn the craft a lot better. he makes a lot of mistakes, which is normal of young fighters. i hope he realizes his full potential and we actually get our money's worth from him, not just Haymon.
Mayweather won his first title 8 fights in, lima only had 15 fights under his belt when he out classed williams. I get the fact that he's only had 17 fights but when do you test him when he's had 40+ fights against nobodys like Chavez jr? career suicide can occur when you fight too many under par opponents and then step up in class and loose. Then you get branded as a hype job, and you're career is in jeopardy with one loss. kind o f like Buerto's situation.
Gary would beat all of yall n if u got a boxer he would whip him to as a matter of fact yall must of been ducking him when he was in the dmv area.Stop hateing
Gary Russell Jr. is a fine prospect, but people who pay for HBO deserve more than an eight-round bout.
I told you over a week ago that he would never, ever accept a fight with Teon Kennedy. And for real, I dont blame him. Keep making that doe Lil G. Boxing is a business, as Money Mayweather. They will hate you but will still pay to see you. You see what happened to KO Snow when fought him.
Maybe I am reading this wrong, but my recap reads Gary's first opponent turned down the fight, and Kennedy turned down the fight over a pound. If Kennedy's camp feels that strongly over how much better there guy is why not take the fight. I just read the article on ESPN, and for some reason there were some important things left out. Gary is the draw so he has more juice at the negotiating table. Kennedy didn't want the fight so they are fighting somebody else and Russell will still be on FNF, where will Kennedy be? I think everybody is to quick to hate in the DMV, and I can't believe this article was written so negligently.
Actually, neither one of them are a draw. Unfortunatley not even in their home town.
The opponent hunt for a few Al Haymon clients to appear on HBO in heavyweight Seth Mitchell, featherweight Gary Russell, Jr. and junior lightweight Adrien Broner has gone very poorly. Mitchell has ended up with Timur Ibragimov by all accounts for Dec. 10, a good fight (again) for Mitchell's development but not a real HBO-worthy one. Russell has gone from a possible bout with Luis Franco -- which I could get behind -- to a possible bout with Teon Kennedy, coming off a loss. Nothing against Kennedy but he's not ideal coming off that loss; I don't hold defeats against people too much, but the freshness of it and the widely-panned effort is not swell for an HBO opponent. And Broner could end up with Vicente Rodriguez, a totally unproven South American fighter who would be getting a totally undeserved title shot. Russell and Broner are booked for Nov. 26.
Russell, who has perhaps the quickest hands in boxing and is one of the sport's top prospects, ran roughshod over Miranda in a monster mismatch that belonged nowhere near the HBO airwaves. But being in adviser Al Haymon's stable has its privileges. HBO did not even have the opponent for Russell until about a week before the fight, unheard of for the network. And to make matters worse the bout was cut from a scheduled 10-rounder to an eight-rounder, even more special treatment for Russell, in a move supposedly agreed to because Russell, a southpaw, was dealing with a fragile left hand.
Although Russell, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., got all that special treatment he did look very, very good against a very, very limited opponent in Miranda, 28, of Mexico, who has now lost four of his last six (yet another questionable decision by HBO to approve such a poor opponent). Russell, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, had the overwhelming speed and skill advantage and he used it to pepper Miranda nonstop throughout the bout. Two judges appropriately had it a shutout, but it was quite surprising to see that judge Larry Ingle give Miranda even a single round, because Russell toyed with him. He jabbed relentlessly, worked the body extremely well, showed strong defense and punched in blazing fast combination. At one point in the fifth round, Russell ripped off a six-punch combination. It's doubtful Miranda ever saw more than two or three of the punches. Russell wobbled Miranda a couple of times in what amounted to target practice. The only knock on Russell at all was that he could not drop him.
Give Gary Russell Jr. a break, look at this list. He has plenty
of time to grow.
1.Yuriorkis Gamboa
Country: Cuba
Record: 21-0-0 (16 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 1 | Last Week: 1 | Weeks On List: 131
2.Chris John
Country: Indonesia
Record: 45-0-2 (22 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 2 | Last Week: 2 | Weeks On List: 378
Titles: WBA
3.Orlando Salido
Country: Mexico
Record: 36-11-2 (24 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 3 | Last Week: 3 | Weeks On List: 76
Titles: WBO
4.Juan Manuel Lopez
Country: Puerto Rico
Record: 31-1-0 (28 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 4 | Last Week: 4 | Weeks On List: 92
5.Daniel Ponce De Leon
Country: Mexico
Record: 41-4-0 (34 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 5 | Last Week: 5 | Weeks On List: 88
6.Cristobal Cruz
Country: Mexico
Record: 39-12-3 (23 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 6 | Last Week: 6 | Weeks On List: 157
7.Rafael Marquez
Country: Mexico
Record: 40-7-0 (36 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 7 | Last Week: 7 | Weeks On List: 75
8.Jhonny Gonzalez
Country: Mexico
Record: 50-7-0 (44 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 8 | Last Week: 8 | Weeks On List: 29
Titles: WBC
9.Mikey Garcia
Country: USA
Record: 27-0-0 (23 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 9 | Last Week: 9 | Weeks On List: 25
10.Billy Dib
Country: Australia
Record: 32-1-0 (19 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 10 | Last Week: 10 | Weeks On List: 13
Teon Kennedy fights out of Philadelphia and he has that old school Philly style. He's a well schooled technician but doesnt hesitate to get into a tear up when situation calls for it. He recently upset the highly regarded prospect in Jorge Diaz .. This was a huge win for him..
Teon Kennedy looks like a future world champion, and at age 24, a likely multi-Briscoe Award winner. Only time will tell. But he has already contributed a solid chapter to Philly's Boxing History book. Rogers Mtagwa has given us so many thrills over the years, that it can be said that acknowledging him is long over due. He seemed truly happy when he accepted his award along with his team - manager Joe Parella and trainer, Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts. Mtagwa held his Briscoe high above his head and flashed a gigantic smile.
How come lil G gets ripped apart for the fight not happening when it was Teon who did not consent to the pound.
By draw I am sure he meant the network draw. Its not going to be here or Philly so why would it matter if he can draw locally? Lil G has been on the networks several times how many times has Kennedy? It takes two to tango/tangle so you can have all that Kennedy love I'm running with the local talent LIL G
HOW CAN YOU SAY RUSSELL SHOULDN'T BE ON BUT EVERYONE THOUGHT FERNANDO WAS ALTHOUGH IT WAS ESPN AND SHOWTIME. THE THING IS HE FOUGHT BUMS REAL BUMS ATLEAST RUSSELL IS FIGHTING BETTER COMP.
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