Gary Russell Jr makes his first defence of his WBC featherweight world title in over a year versus the undefeated Mark Magsayo. Russell is notorious for his inactivity and his one fight a year schedule but has actually outdone himself this time as he hasn’t fought in over 23 months. Mark Magsayo picked up a big knockout win in his last fight over Julio Ceja but also showed his flaws as he was dropped and out worked for most of the fight before the knockout.
If Russell is still at his best then he should be able to comfortably out-box Magsayo who while possessing power lacks the technical boxing ability of Russell. If Russell has lost a step then Magsayo could catch him late in the fight and finish him. This fight is most interesting to me because Russell is currently the longest active reigning world champion in the sport as he picked up his world title in 2015. It’s rare for a fighter to hold on to their title for so long and you’d have to think he’ll slip up sooner or later.
Boxing Fulcrum 