Photo Credits To Amanda Westcott/Showtime
Gary Russell Jr Retains WBC Featherweight Belt With UD Victory Over An Impressive Joseph Diaz
MGM National Harbor-Oxon Hill, MD (May 19) – When a champion retains his title, the average fan assumes the champion walks into the ring, survives for twelve rounds, and walks away with the belt. Gary Russell Jr. put his full talents on display to retain his WBC Featherweight Belt by Unanimous Decision over An impressive, young, hungry, lion in Joseph Diaz.
Russell Jr, in his post-fight interview, said: “Diaz was easy to figure out early and the plan was to keep him frustrated in the middle of the ring.” Russell Jr was true to form as he opened the fight displaying a blistering right-hand jab. Diaz seemed to have problems adjusting to Russell’s speed and was unable to get off his shots in the first round. A humble and very classy Diaz admitted afterward “Gary Russell Jr. was the fastest fighter he had ever faced and the speed forced him to think too much and not punch enough.”
Russell Jr. opened the second round on fire. Russell Jr. was extremely aggressive and seemed to have had Diaz in trouble, but Diaz remained calm, weathered the storm and began to unleash some vicious body shots on what looked to be a quickly retreating Russell Jr. Diaz closed out the round strong and continued the momentum in round three, but the champion Russell worked behind his jab and methodically picked Diaz apart. While Diaz landed the harder more telling blows to the body, Russell Jr. used his jab to outwork and outland the young gunner.
In rounds four and five, Russell Jr. controlled most of the rounds, but Diaz was landing soul zapping body shots that really seemed to take the energy out of Russell Jr.
By the sixth round, the tremendous bodywork Diaz was putting together seemed to be slowly swaying the partisan Gary Russell Jr. crowd. Chants of “Gary, Gary, Gary” soon turned to “Ooh’s and Ahh’s” for the powerful young Diaz who slowly began to walk Russell Jr. and force him to fight in small sections of the ring. The nasty bodywork seemed to be taking the breath out of Russell Jr, but Russell Jr. was digging deep and throwing more punches to outwork the younger Diaz.
Russell Jr. put his full arsenal on display in round seven as he threw combinations with the fastest hands in boxing and his shoe shining really had Diaz outclassed. Russell Jr. made tiny adjustments like fighting in a lower stance, a step to his left or right, a flash of speed with the jab, and peppering of left hands threw Diaz off course. Diaz tried to stick to the plan as he continued to hold his guard high and follow Russell Jr. around the ring, but offensively, Diaz was limited to only landing a few wicked body shots.
Diaz finally let his hands go in rounds eight and nine, and he was landing the much cleaner shots. At times, Russell Jr. seemed to have been winded and without the legs that have been able to help him slide to previous victories, but every time Russell Jr. seemed to be looking to hold on or get ready to fold, Russell Jr. the defending WBC Champion let his hands go to escape and frustrate the charging Diaz.
Photo Credits To Amanda Westcott/Showtime
In the championship rounds, Russell Jr. was hit with some bombs and what was ruled a slip by referee Kenny Chevalier, seemed (to the untrained eye) to be a short shot from Diaz which dropped Russell Jr. Again, the referee ruled it a slip, but the way the Champion fought back after the slip, was the reason on this night Gary Russell Jr. showing true skill, will, grit, and heart retained his WBC Featherweight belt by unanimous decision over Joseph Diaz.
