Team Russell says it approached Stevenson after he named Gary Antuanne as a target, but the discussions ended before negotiations could begin.
Gary Russell Jr. says his family attempted to make a fight between WBO light welterweight champion Shakur Stevenson and Gary Antuanne Russell after Stevenson publicly expressed interest. According to Russell, Stevenson’s team respectfully declined once contact was made, leaving the proposed matchup without formal negotiations.
“I can say with confidence that me and my team, we did reach out to Shakur and his team to see if they were willing to make a fight,” Gary Russell Jr. said to YSM Sports Media. “Unfortunately, they wanted to move in a different direction. That was the fight we were willing to take, but it didn’t come to fruition.”
Russell said he wanted to set the record straight after hearing Shakur mention his younger brother as a potential opponent. Shakur had identified Gary Antuanne as one of the few names that interested him beyond proposed fights with Haney and Gervonta Davis. Lamont Roach Jr. also made that short list.
One fighter who missed the cut entirely was Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela. Shakur dismissed the idea of facing the fellow Zuffa Boxing fighter despite Rayo expressing interest following his victory over Edwin De Los Santos.
If Shakur genuinely wanted the matchup, Team Russell insists the opportunity was there, only for Stevenson’s side to respectfully decline once directly approached.
Russell didn’t accuse Shakur of avoiding the fight.
“I don’t think that Shakur is somebody that would be scared to take a fight or anything like that,” Russell said. “Maybe his team just decided to take a different path.”
Russell believes the fight still has a chance to happen in the future.
“I do believe that’s a possible fight that could be made later on,” he said.
Gary Antuanne is expected to move forward with a mandatory WBA light welterweight title defense against Oscar Duarte, with the sides in early talks. Shakur, meanwhile, has yet to identify another realistic opponent beyond the names he previously mentioned.
