By Ian S Palmer
The Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut will be the site of the Gary Russell Jr. vs Patrick Hyland bout this Saturday, April 16th as Russell defends his WBC Featherweight Title for the first time. The bout can be seen live in the U.S. on Showtime while fans in Britain and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports. Russell won the crown in March of last year with a fourth-round stoppage of veteran and former world champion Jhonny Gonzalez. Russell has been out of the ring for over a year now though as his scheduled November bout against Oscar Escandon was called off after Russell suffered a cut in training.
The 27-year-old Russell of Capitol Height, Maryland, is a southpaw and enters the bout with a record of 26-1 along with 15 Kos. His lone loss came at the hands of Vasyl Lomachenko of Russia in a title shot via a majority decision in June of 2014. The 32-year-old Hyland is a native of Ireland and isn’t very well known to North American fans even though he’s fought in the U.S. a few times. The year-old challenger enters the ring with a fine record of 31-1 along with 15 Kos. The Irishman is on a four-fight winning streak and has scored three straight knockouts.
Hyland hasn’t fought many top-class opponents and will be taking a step up against Russell. However, he did have a title shot in December of 2012 when he challenged for the WBA title, but lost a unanimous decision to Javier Fortuna. Hyland possesses solid chin as well as pretty good power, but isn’t on the same level as Russell when it comes to power, speed, and combination punching. Hyland stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with an unlisted reach while Russell is just over 5-foot-4 and has a 64-inch reach. Russell’s knockout ratio stands at 56 per cent while the challenger’s is 47 per cent.
Russell turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 122 rounds since then. Hyland has 178 rounds under his belt since 2004. Hyland’s lone loss came against Fortuna, but he hasn’t really fought any top-notch opponents during his career. Russell’s toughest tests were Lomachenko and Gonzalez with the rest of his opponents being relative unknowns. The champion may be the smaller man, but he’s a tremendous athlete with a good combination of speed and power. However, the majority of his bouts other than the Lomachenko and Gonzalez contests, have been boring for most fans because he’s been far too superior for his opponents.
Prediction
All signs point toward a successful Russell title defence on Saturday, but Hyland can’t be taken too lightly by the champ. The Irishman has a lot of heart to go along with size and decent power, but he’s just not as athletic as Russell and can’t match the American’s boxing skills and speed. Look for Russell to eventually stop a game Hyland to retain his belt.
