GARY Russell Jr returns to the ring for the first time in over three years when he features on the PBC preliminary portion of the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios July 19 card. Mark Magsayo, the man who inflicted defeat on Russell Jr in that distant appearance, will also box on the starter portion, alongside David Picasso.
Now aged 37, Russell Jr was hardly the most active boxer on the block, even during his championship reign. The defeat to Magsayo in January 2022 was a close one. Russell Jr. lost his WBC featherweight title, with the fight ending in a tight majority decision, despite Gary suffering an arm injury that hampered his offensive prowess.
Russell’s opponent on July 19, Hugo Castaneda, is a 23-year-old Mexican based in Texas, who was last seen getting knocked out in the fourth round by a prospect. Castaneda has 11 KOs in 15 wins, so he can bang a bit. Putting Russell Jrโs inaction aside, this should be a routine outing for the leading member of the Russell family unit.
Mark Magsayo meets Jorge Mata Cuellar, who is on a five-fight winning streak. After beating Russell Jr, things went south for Magsayo as the Filipino lost to Rey Vargas and then Brandon Figueroa.
David Picasso, meanwhile, finally gets in the ring with Japanese opposition, but itโs not the name he was hoping for. Long linked to a fight with Naoya Inoue, Picasso will make do with Kyonosuke Kameda, who previously lost to Luis Nery by stoppage in February of this year.
