Gary Russell, JR Defends his WBC Featherweight Title with Win Over Joseph Diaz, JR – Boxing News

By Joshua “City” Brewer (At Ringside)

The atmosphere was once again live at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD, as the new venue ushered in a second year of world class boxing. The night did not disappoint and Ringside Report was in attendance for the action. The main event at the MGM National Harbor featured WBC world featherweight champion “Mr.” Gary Russell, JR., 29-1, 17 KO’s, as he defended his title against then undefeated Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, JR., 26-1, 14 KO’s. The fight was broadcast live on Showtime which also featured the exciting WBC world light heavyweight clash between Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, 29-1-1, 24 KO’s, and Badou Jack “The Ripper”, 22-1-3, 13 KO’s, who fought to a draw.

Russell, JR., controlled round one behind a fast, solid jab, opting to use his speed and technique to pot shot Diaz, JR., from the outside. Not much came from Diaz, JR., as he spent the majority of the round trying to adjust to the speed of Russell, JR. Russell, JR., press Diaz early in round two showing blazing hand speed as he caught him combinations. During the second half of the round Diaz, JR., started to fire back landing shots of his own as he made his presence felt. Additionally, Diaz, JR., started to invest in the body with heavy shots. Russell, JR., chose to stay on the inside and bang it out with Diaz, Jr., who carried the offense for the latter part of the round.

Both met each other square in the beginning of the third essentially picking up where they left off. Both had their moments with solid shots to both the head and body. It was a close third that could have went either way. Diaz, JR., commenced with more solid body work landing heavy that seemed to hurt Russell, JR., in the fourth. Russell, JR., ripped in a solid right hook combination to snap Diaz, JR.’s head toward in the end of the round. In round five, Diaz, JR., let off a solid combination midway through as Russell, JR., had his gloves up, but some got through. Diaz, JR., continued to work the body as he stalked forward. Russell, JR., spent the later part of the round on the defensive as Diaz, Jr., teed off.

Diaz, JR., continued to stalk midway through the sixth. Diaz, Jr. started to land as Russell, JR., backed to the ropes. Russell, Jr., continued to throw combinations with speed off of the back foot, though Diaz, JR., seemed to take them well. Russell, JR., showed good movement through the end of the round as Diaz, JR., was unable to set his feet for the chance to land. Russell, JR., ripped off a nice combination to start the seventh. Russell, JR., seemed to employ more of a box and move strategy once again forcing Diaz, JR., to work harder to try and land a shot. The punch output started to drop for Diaz, JR., as Russell, JR., continued to move.

Through rounds eight and nine, Diaz, JR., continued to stalk forward but his punch output remained low as he was unable to throw if he wasn’t set. Russell, JR., continued to box from the outside landing single shots.

In the 10th, Diaz, JR., started to see a bit of success as Russell, JR., seemingly stepped off of the gas. Both fighters landed solid left hooks respectively to end the round. It was an exciting 11th round from both fighters. Russell, JR., chose to stay on the inside and bang it out with Diaz, JR. Both fighters had their moments but Russell, JR., seemed to be the fresher fighter.

Russell, JR., went back to his boxing fundamentals to start the 12th as the crowd stood to their feet chanting “Gary!” Diaz, JR., seemed to catch Russell, JR., with a solid body shot that saw him drop to a knee but it wasn’t ruled as a knockdown by referee Kenny Chevalier. Diaz, Jr., continued to press forward for the latter part of the 12th as he looked to try and secure a knockdown. Russell, Jr., chose to fight fire with fire as he stunned Diaz, JR., at the ten 10 second marker. The bell rang and the crowd roared as both fighters put on a great display of effort throughout.

In the end the judges scored the fight 115-113, and 117-111, twice. Russell, JR., picked up the unanimous decision victory defending his title for a third time and handing Diaz, JR., his first professional loss. Ringside Report had Russell, JR., winning seven rounds to five. Russell, JR., spoke of potential unification fights later in the year. Diaz, JR., can hold his head high in a great effort as he continues forward with his career. If a rematch is agreed, bring it on.

Additional fights on the card included Immanuel Aleem, 18-1-1, 11 KO’s, securing a victory over Juan Carlos De Angel, 20-9-1, 18 KO’s. The fighters started out very cautious as the felt each other out, though Aleem controlled what action that took place.

In the fourth, Aleem staggered De Angel with a solid left hook before another dropped De Angel. De Angel was able to get to his feet and swung wildly towards end of round.
At the advice of the corner and doctor the fight was stopped prior to the start of the seventh round handing Aleem the victory. Aleem looked good and was controlling all of the action at this point. Aleem made it clear that he wants the top guys in the middleweight division.

Gary “The Last” Antuanne Russell, 6-0, 6 KO’s, remained undefeated as he dispatched of Wilmer Rodriguez, 9-3, 7 KO’s. A Left hook to head dropped Rodriguez midway through round one. Russell then followed up and dropped Rodriguez with a head to body combination picking up the stoppage victory at 1:54 of round 1.

Cobia Breedy, 11-0, 4 KO’s, dominated Christopher Martin, 30-10-3, 10 KO’s, picking up a unanimous decision win with scores of 60-54 from all three judges in their featherweight match. Bantamweight prospect Gary “Another” Antonio Russell, 11-0, 9 KO’s, picked up a fifth round stoppage win over Jonathan Lecona, 17-21-4, 6 KO’s, after dropping him twice in previous rounds. The fight was stopped by the referee 16 seconds into the fifth round.

Brandon Quarles, 19-4-1, 10 KO’s, picked up a bounce back win against Fidel Monterrosa, 38-18-1, 30 KO’s. Quarles controlled the action throughout and the referee stepped in to halt the fight at 2:01 of the fifth round. In the opening fight of the night Reuben Simmons, 3-0, 2 KO’s, remained undefeated as he picked up a win over Ayron Davis, 0-2, 0 KO’s, after the fight was stopped due to a clash of heads rendering Davis unable to continue.

The night was lively throughout and the MGM National Harbor remains one of the top new destinations for fight fans on the east coast.

Stay tuned for the latest and greatest on all news at Ringside Report.

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