OXON HILL, Md. -- The man with some of the fastest hands in boxing, Gary Russell Jr. (28-1, 17 KOs), returns to the ring on May 19 on Showtime. Russell will be defending his WBC featherweight world title against Joseph Diaz (26-0, 14 KOs), and if successful it would be his third title defense. It also marks Russell's first fight in exactly 364 days.
For all the talent Russell has shown inside the ring he has been equally frustrating outside of the ring. No, Russell doesn't get in trouble with the law or party like a frat boy between fights, he just rarely gets in the ring. It has been one day less than a year since Russell last fought and after fighting three times in 2014 he has fought just once a year in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Those three fights all went very well for Russell though as he went 3-0 with three knockouts against Jhonny Gonzalez, Patrick Hyland, and Oscar Escandon.
The lone loss of Russell's career came against Vasyl Lomachenko and there is certainly no shame in that. In fact Russell should be praised for going the distance with the Ukrainian star. What allowed Russell to stay in that fight is his best weapon, his hand speed. It's no secret that Russell has some of the fastest fists in the sport and he plies his trade out of the southpaw stance. The Maryland native flashes a nice jab and right hook and he also has a solid straight left hand. He also does a nice job of attacking the body and when he lets his combinations go they are a thing to behold. At 29 years old though it will start becoming harder for Russell to fight so infrequently and still find success.
Finding success is all Diaz has ever done as a professional. He will bring a perfect record into the ring on Saturday night and he has always been an active fighter. Diaz has already won a fight in 2018, a third round knockout of Victor Terrazas, and he went 2-0 in 2017 and 4-0 in 2016. So since 2016 Diaz has fought seven times, while Russell has only fought twice. That gives Diaz the advantage when it comes to activity and not having to work off any ring rust but dealing with Russell's vastly superior speed won't be easy.
Diaz is also a southpaw and he is younger and taller than Russell. Diaz's best attribute is perhaps his ability to get stronger as the fight goes on. He never seems to get tired or fade late in fights and remains dangerous until the final bell. Diaz has a solid jab and a workmanlike style that may not always dazzle but always gets the job done. Along with his jab Diaz also has a good straight left hand and a quality right hook and he will need all the tools at his disposal against Russell.
This fight offers fan a unique contrast of styles. Russell's skills and hand speed jump off the screen and are immediately apparent. Diaz's skills don't pop as much but as the rounds go by he seems to get better and better until the final bell has sounded and his hand is being raised as the victor. In this fight look for Russell to use his superior hand speed to snipe Diaz from the outside. Russell will do plenty of sticking and moving but he also needs to sit down on his combinations and let Diaz feel his pop. For Diaz's part he should look to make this an inside fight. Going to the body early will slow Russell's feet down and allow Diaz to land more. A rough inside fight will favor Diaz but getting inside won't be easy.
PREDICTION: Joseph Diaz has been vastly more active than Gary Russell Jr. and that will show early. Diaz will get off to a nice start before Russell really starts to take control. Diaz will remain in the fight and look good in the championship rounds but by then Russell will have built too big of a lead on the cards and Russell will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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| Russell celebrating a victory with his WBC strap |
The lone loss of Russell's career came against Vasyl Lomachenko and there is certainly no shame in that. In fact Russell should be praised for going the distance with the Ukrainian star. What allowed Russell to stay in that fight is his best weapon, his hand speed. It's no secret that Russell has some of the fastest fists in the sport and he plies his trade out of the southpaw stance. The Maryland native flashes a nice jab and right hook and he also has a solid straight left hand. He also does a nice job of attacking the body and when he lets his combinations go they are a thing to behold. At 29 years old though it will start becoming harder for Russell to fight so infrequently and still find success.
Finding success is all Diaz has ever done as a professional. He will bring a perfect record into the ring on Saturday night and he has always been an active fighter. Diaz has already won a fight in 2018, a third round knockout of Victor Terrazas, and he went 2-0 in 2017 and 4-0 in 2016. So since 2016 Diaz has fought seven times, while Russell has only fought twice. That gives Diaz the advantage when it comes to activity and not having to work off any ring rust but dealing with Russell's vastly superior speed won't be easy.
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| Diaz working the body |
This fight offers fan a unique contrast of styles. Russell's skills and hand speed jump off the screen and are immediately apparent. Diaz's skills don't pop as much but as the rounds go by he seems to get better and better until the final bell has sounded and his hand is being raised as the victor. In this fight look for Russell to use his superior hand speed to snipe Diaz from the outside. Russell will do plenty of sticking and moving but he also needs to sit down on his combinations and let Diaz feel his pop. For Diaz's part he should look to make this an inside fight. Going to the body early will slow Russell's feet down and allow Diaz to land more. A rough inside fight will favor Diaz but getting inside won't be easy.
PREDICTION: Joseph Diaz has been vastly more active than Gary Russell Jr. and that will show early. Diaz will get off to a nice start before Russell really starts to take control. Diaz will remain in the fight and look good in the championship rounds but by then Russell will have built too big of a lead on the cards and Russell will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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