Newly crowned WBA super-lightweight world champion Gary Antuanne Russell doesn’t have a scheduled opponent, but he has been in the gym, staying ready for battle, as he has placed a fellow 140-pound belt holder on his radar.
Three months ago, Russell posted the biggest win of his professional career to date, as he won the WBA world title in dominant fashion. Now the new world champion is focused on winning more gold, as a potential unification bout has sparked his interest.
The Capitol Heights, Maryland native, Gary Antuanne Russell, made his professional boxing debut in May 2017, scoring a first-round TKO victory over Josh Ross. Russell would go on to defeat his next 16 opponents.
He received a big opportunity in June 2024 when he was set to face Alberto Puello in a battle for the vacant WBC interim super-lightweight title. The Russell vs Puello fight was an entertaining back-and-forth battle, but in the end, Puello won via split decision.
Nine months later, Russell received another title opportunity when he faced the WBA world champion Jose Valenzuela. In the opening round of the bout, Russell was very aggressive as he pressed forward and consistently landed a sharp jab.
During the early stages of the fight, Russell overwhelmed Jose Venezuela with his punch volume and his accuracy. Russell was able to maintain the high-volume pace throughout the contest, as he cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
With the win, Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) became the new WBA super-lightweight world champion. Now the 29-year-old Russell is one of the four belt holders in the 140-pound division.
Known as the boogeyman of the weight class, Gary Antuanne Russell is ready to creep up on the other champions and unify the belts. Russell would like a match against WBO champion Teofimo Lopez or a rematch against WBC champion Alberto Puello, but the boxer currently on his radar is the IBF champion.
Richardson Hitchins had a stellar performance on the night of June 14th, as he stopped George Kambosos Jr in the eighth round. After making a statement inside of the ring, Hitchins expressed interest in fighting either Teofimo Lopez or Devin Haney.
Gary Antuanne Russell couldn’t help but notice that his name wasn’t mentioned. Russell proceeded to publish a post on social media to address his thoughts regarding the omission.
“How can a guy lose to me 4x in the amateurs, we both have belts in the same division, and yet you don’t even want to fight me. Boxing is getting soft for real. I’ll fight anyone as long as it makes sense, money or legacy.”
Gary Antuanne Russell has expressed his desire to clean out the 140-pound division, and he wants to start the process with his amateur boxing rival Richardson Hitchins. Russell has made the callout public, but the question is, will Richardson Hitchins respond to the callout, or pretend like it never happened?