Gary Russell Jr. (L) fights Mark Magsayo (R) for the WBC World Featherweight Championship at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa on January 22, 2022 in Atlantic City, United States. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines–Gary Russell Jr. remained adamant he beat Mark Magsayo in their world title fight last month.
Russell’s long reign as WBC featherweight champion ended when he lost to Magsayo via majority decision in a bout where the American southpaw fought through an injured right shoulder.
“I think I proved how much better I am fighting with one arm,” Russell told The Ring recently. “I hurt my arm hitting him in the head in the fourth round. He didn’t do anything to hurt me. People, I felt, saw brilliance on January 22.”
“I still say I won that fight—with one arm. I hurt my arm two weeks before the fight. It was an old injury that I had before the 2008 Olympics. I had a torn tendon in my right shoulder. I was told to get surgery, but I built my muscles around it and was still able to fight effectively.”
The 33-year-old Russell has been raring for a rematch since, though, there’s still no timetable for his return from injury.
But if Russell will have his way, he would want to fight Magsayo again later this year.
Mark Magsayo applies the pressure on Gary Russell Jr. in their featherweight world title fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Photo from Showtime Boxing Twitter
“This is supposed to be about being hit, and not getting hit. I want another shot against him, depending on how injured my shoulder is. I know I was hitting Magsayo, and he wasn’t hitting me,” said the Washington, DC native.
“And guess what, Magsayo won’t rematch me, either. The fans should want to see that fight again—with me being fully healthy.”
Russell is convinced that had it not been for the injury, he would have scored a stoppage against Magsayo, who stayed undefeated at 24-0 with 16 knockouts.
“People got to see intellect over athleticism. I was in control the entire time of the fight. I fought a world-class fighter with one arm—and I made it look easy. I wasn’t able to use all of my tools,” he said.
“I would have stopped him. I would have got him out if I had two hands. I had him down from timing him, and I touched him at will.”