“Scary” Russell Jr.?
THIS BIRTHDAY BOY HAS AXE TO GRIND
Los Angeles, Ca– Watching the fights Saturday night, a double header on Showtime, a constant theme came up in my mind and I continually began to rant, “This guy is a 2008 Olympian and has been a professional for almost five years. Yet, he still hasn’t fought anyone remotely resembling a decent fighter or even one with a pulse. And this is a co feature?” I am obviously paraphrasing, still my frustrations with the boxing industry continues.
NEEDS FOE NOT ON LIFE SUPPORT!
For a guy with the amateur pedigree of Gary Russell Jr. (22-0, 13 KOs), one would think at this stage of his boxing tenure you’d expect a guy being featured in a co-main event to be facing a level of opponent warranted for his apparent talent level. Across the ring was Vyacheslav Gusev (20-3, 5 KOs), a former Muy Thai (kick boxer) who takes the word “pathetic” to a new low.
GUSEV SETS COMPUBOX RECORD!
With the non-puncher Gusev landing a mere 33 punches over 30 minutes (ten rounds) of boxing, he now has the honor of landing the least amount of shots in Compubox history over ten frames. This wasn’t a case of Russell being too good, it was Gusev being, to steal a line from iconic scribe Malcolm “Flash” Gordon, a pugilistic Pee Su Shit. As for Showtime’s talking heads, I am sick and tired of the spin about how fast his hands are, etc, etc. A fighter with his reputed talent will always look great against someone who will offer no resistance. If you haven’t noticed, this has been an ongoing problem in boxing.
CABLE NETWORKS SHOULD TELEVISE “FIGHTS” NOT “FARCES”
Fighters earning televised dates months before an opponent has been selected is an ongoing practice that is designed to result in mismatches for the “house” fighter. By networks handing fighters pushovers for easy money, at the end of the day all they do is further alienate the paying consumer who begins to look at viewing alternatives of the HBO and Showtime fights rather than pay to watch them in the TV room.
ONLY SPORT THAT REWARDS TROLLING IN CEMETERIES
Knocking out far past prime and smaller foes such as Mauricio Pastrana (35-17-2, 23 KOs) as he did in 2010 and Heriberto Ruiz (47-12, 29 KOs) in 2011 tells me nothing about his development or how he’d do against a quality foe. Many credit Al Haymon for Russell’s getting fat checks against “no hopers.” With the amateur accolades and the again “apparent” talent, what exactly is “Big Al” afraid of?
Kevin “K.P.” Perry