Mr. Gary Russell Jr. meets upset-minded Mark Magsayo

WBC world featherweight champion, Gary Russell Jr. is known as “Mr. Once a Year” by most fight fans.

Russell is no fan of his unofficial nickname, but a check of his record reveals that since 2015, Russell has indeed been in the ring every 12-14 months.

“Not my fault,” says Russell.

“I’ve been calling out everybody who’s supposed to be somebody,” Russell told Brian Custer. “I just play the cards that are dealt with.”

Russell will be fighting on January 15 against undefeated Mark Magsayo at Borgata Casino in New Jersey.

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Russell explains his strategy

A few years ago, Russell, who’s held the featherweight crown for over five years, explained that boxing once a year saves his body and, in the process, is prolonging his career.

Whether Russell’s methods make sense, the results have been extraordinary. The super-speedy Russell has engaged in 32 fights, winning 31, while scoring 18 knockouts. His lone loss was to Ukrainian twin, Vasiliy Lomachenko, who outhustled Russell in 2014.

That fight was dandy and very competitive. Russell jumped out to lead until Lomachenko’s bodywork slowed him down. Nobody has come close to beating Russell since.

Challenger admires Pacquiao

Magsayo,26, a good seven years younger than Russell, grew up idolizing Filipino legend, Manny Pacquiao. A sparkling amateur career resulted in 200 fights and being crowned champion four times at the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. Keeping the Pacquiao connection going, Magsayo hooked up with Pacquiao’s long-time trainer, Freddie Roach, in 2020. They’ve teamed to go 3-0, winning a decision over Rigoberto Hermosillo, stopping veteran Pablo Cruz, and railing from a knockdown to brutally put Julio Ceja to sleep four months ago. A pair of right hands did the trick.

“I am going to come to win and to make the most of this chance,” Magsayo said at a press conference three weeks ago. “This is going to be a great fight for me to show the world what Filipinos are made of. ”

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Russell has held world title since 2016

Russell stopped current featherweight titleholder, Kiko Martinez, in 2019 and handed former world champion, Joseph Diaz Jr., his first loss in 2018. Most recently, Russell, who entered the ­­­ring an 11-1 favorite, outpointed the previously-unbeaten Tugstsogt Nyambayar on his way to his fifth title defense in February 2020. His edge in experience over Magsayo cannot be discounted.

Oddsmakers are favoring Russell by as much as 7-1, https://www.betting.net/bookmaker/ He’s also favored by 5-2 odds to score a knockout before round seven.

Russell watched some clippings of Magsayo recently and said “he looks heavy-handed but a little wide.”

He’s hoping that Magsayo is aggressive on Jan. 22.

“Lace your MF’n boots up because it’s about to be a bumpy ride,” Russell told Abraham Gonzalez of www.nyfights.com.

Russell is a master boxer. Magsayo is still a little green, but he can punch. That might be his only chance. Russell will likely counter him all night. Magasayo has never faced anyone with Russell’s hand speed. He’ll need to go to the body, and hope Russell gets old in the ring, to spring the upset.

Look for Mr. Gary Russell to win by late stoppage or wide unanimous decision.