Gary Russell, JR. to Face Christopher Martin in New Co-Feature this Saturday December 20th

A 10-round featherweight fight between 2008 U.S. Olympian and former world title contender Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Md., and former California State Champion Christopher Martin (28-4-3, 9 KOs) of Chula Vista, Calif., has been elevated to co-feature of this Saturday’s SHOWTIME BOXING on SHOWTIME EXTREME live telecast (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast, SHOWTIME EXTREME) from Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Wash.

The Russell vs. Martin scarp is co-headlining the SHOWTIME EXTREME telecast in replacement of previously announced bout between Anthony Peterson and Yakabu Amido. Peterson will now box on the non-televised portion of the card against Mexican veteran Héctor Velázquez (56-24-3, 38 KOs).

In another change to the televised lineup, promising undefeated world-class prospect Julian “J Rock” Williams (17-0-1, 10 KOs), 24, of Philadelphia, will now be opposed by Jamar Freeman of Wilson, N.C. in a 10-round junior middleweight clash. Freeman (13-3-2, 7 KOs) is a late substitute for Mexico’s Edgar “Nene” Ortega, who withdrew due to an injury suffered in training.

The final SHOWTIME BOXING event of the year – and the fourth and final of back-to-back SHOWTIME telecasts on consecutive weekends – is presented by Goossen Promotions.

The talented, quick-fisted Russell will be making his first start since suffering his lone loss via hard-fought 12-round majority decision to former international amateur standout and two-time Olympic Games gold medalist (2008, 2012) Vasyl Lomachenko, of Ukraine, last June 21 on SHOWTIME. Russell came up short in the epic showdown for the WBO Featherweight World Championship by the scores of 114-114 and 116-112 twice.

Martin, 28, a winner of five of his last seven outings, is a clever boxer and excellent counter-puncher who is making his second start at featherweight. One of his most noteworthy victories came in August 2010 in the first of his two appearances on ShoBox: The New Generation when he recorded an upset 10-round decision over promising super bantamweight prospect Chris Avalos, who has appeared on ShoBox more than any other fighter.

In the 12-round main event, southpaw interim WBA Featherweight World Champion Jesus Andres “El Jinete” Cuellar (25-1, 19 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will seek his ninth victory in a row when he defends against Ruben “Canelito” Tamayo (23-4-4, 15 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. In the opening bout of the telecast, undefeated Julius “The Chef” Jackson (18-0, 14 KOs) of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, will battle once-beaten Jonathan Nelson (20-1, 10 KOs), of Little Rock, Ark., in a 10-round super middleweight match.

Advance tickets priced at $100, $50 and $30 are now on sale through the Little Creek Casino Resort through their website, www.Little-Creek.com or by calling 1-800-667-7711. The Little Creek Casino Resort is located at 91 W. State Route 108 in Shelton, Washington 98584. Doors will open on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT. First non-televised bout starts at 6 p.m. PT.

For more information on Goossen Promotions follow them on Twitter and Facebook @GoossenBoxing and view their new website at www.GoossenPromotions.com. For more information on SHOWTIME follow them at @ShoSports or www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing or visit www.SHO.com/sports.

Barry Tompkins will call the SHOWTIME BOXING on SHOWTIME EXTREME action from ringside with boxing historian Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.