By Ian S Palmer
WBC Featherweight king Jhonny Gonzalez of Mexico will meet American Gary Russell Jr this Saturday, March 28 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 12-round bout can be seen live in America on Showtime while British fans can catch the action on BoxNation. Gonzalez is known for his punching power while Russell has a pair of the fastest hands in the business.
The 33-year-old Gonzalez will enter the ring with a record of 57-8 along with 48 Kos while the 26-year-old Russell is 25-1 and has 14 Kos under his name. Russell’s only defeat came last June against Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine as he was outboxed by the former Olympic champion and dropped a majority decision for the vacant WBO Featherweight Championship. It was the first time Russell stepped up in class and while he had his moments his speed wasn’t enough to earn a victory.
Russell is a southpaw who has decent power in his fists, but it’s his quick combinations and fancy footwork that wins most bouts for him. He’s a fine counter puncher, but not too aggressive. His last fight was a unanimous decision against Christopher Martin in December and he’s anxious to earn a win in his second world title shot. Russell of Washington D.C., said he lacked energy in his defeat to Lomachenko due to his pre-fight strength and conditioning regimen.
Gonzalez has one-punch knockout power and will jump at the chance if his opponent leaves an opening to attack. His best punch is the left hook and it can do damage to anybody if it connects on the button. He won his title with a second-round stoppage over Abner Mares in August of 2014 and this will be his third defence. His last bout came in October when he stopped former world champion Jorge Arce of Mexico in the 11th round.
Gonzalez’s knockout ration stands at 73.85 per cent and if Russell’s chin doesn’t hold up then that number will increase. Russell on the other hand prefers to box rather than slug it out and he’s managed to win 89 per cent of his 118 pro rounds. His last three wins have all gone the distance and he barely lost a round in them. Gonzalez will need to establish his jab to neutralize the speed of Russell and this should be possible since he has a 69-inch reach compared to Russell’s 64 inch wingspan. Gonzalez is just over 5-feet-6-inches tall while Russell is an inch shorter.
Prediction
Gonzalez has lost eight times and been stopped in three of them, but most losses came earlier in his career.
He has a decent chin and Russell doesn’t have a lot of power, so there’s a chance he’s going to need to win some rounds on the scorecards. The speed of Russell will be a major key as well as his ability to take a punch. Gonzalez has the power to stop him, but Russell is going to be hard to catch with a solid punch. Look for this to go the distance with Gonzalez possibly hurting Russell, but not being able to stop him. Russell takes the title by decision.
