For the first 24 fights of his professional career, 2008 U.S. Olympian and 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year Gary Russell Jr. was undermatched against a series of soft opponents with virtually no serious chance to beat him.
So when he got a mandatory shot at a vacant title in June against heralded two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko, a very serious opponent, who was only in his third pro fight but had faced legitimate opposition in his previous two, Russell was in trouble.
Lomachenko took him to school in a decision win and claimed the belt.
Now Russell is set for his first fight since that defeat, but said he has not put the loss to Lomachenko behind him and does not plan to.
“I will never get over the loss to Lomachenko,” Russell said. “Even if we fight again and I beat him, I will never forget that first loss.”
So with that in mind, Russell (24-1, 14 KOs) will meet Christopher Martin (28-4-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout on Saturday night (Showtime Extreme, 10 ET/PT) at the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Washington.
The fight is part of a quadrupleheader dominated by Al Haymon-managed fighters and headlined by interim featherweight titlist Jesus Cuellar (25-1, 19 KOs), of Argentina, defending against Mexico’s Ruben Tamayo (25-4-4, 17 KOs).
Russell, 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, figures to have the overwhelming speed, power and technical advantages over Martin, 28, of Chula Vista, California, who has lost two of his past three fights.
“This is not an easy fight for either of us, but it is my chance to defeat one of the best featherweights in the world so, of course, I am excited about the opportunity,” Martin said. “I am more than ready. Training camp went great. I’m confident and excited about fighting on Saturday.”
Russell said he is anxious to fight again in what will be his third bout of the year after having only two fights apiece in 2012 and 2011, in part because of hand and foot injuries.
“I’ve been training for about two months. My hands are fine and I’m roaring to get in the ring,” Russell said. “I’m fighting a tough guy who is definitely confident that he can upset me, which is exactly the kind of fighter I want to fight.”
Russell, a southpaw, hopes a victory will propel him into another title fight and rematch with Lomachenko.
“I expect 2015 will be a very big year for me,” Russell said. “I want to fight for another world title, win it, and then immediately challenge Lomachenko to a unification fight. I believe if we fight again I will win. In fact I feel if we fought 100 times, I would beat him in 99 of them.”