By Jake Donovan

Gary Russell Jr. had been waiting since the morning of opening round competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to have the chance at making the world stand up and take notice at his in-ring performance.

The D.C. native finally notched the first of what he expects to be several great moments in his career Saturday evening at the Palms in Las Vegas. A one-sided 4th round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez netted Russell a featherweight title, and a small dose of redemption for having failed miserably in his first attempt at such honors.

“This is the kind of performance I always expect but don’t always get,’’ said Russell, whose previous bid at a belt ended with a 12-round loss to Vasyl Lomachenko last June. “If people only knew how hard we worked for this, the time we put in the gym, the mental and physical things we work on and put ourselves through every day.

“There are always obstacles to overcome but for this fight I was 100 percent. This win is for all the people who have been with me from the beginning.’’

It came out during fight week in the days leading up to Saturday’s fight as to why Russell expected – and delivered – a far stronger performance. The claim from his camp was the manner in which he was asked to make weight prior to the Lomachenko fight – staying at full strength until 2-3 days before the weigh-in, at which point his unnamed strength and conditioning coach asked him to spend time in the sauna to shed the remaining weight above the limit.

From there, Russell believed his energy was sapped. It was not unlike his showing up at the morning weigh-in for the 2008 Olympics dehydrated and barely able to stand erect. Russell fainted at the scales, failing to weigh in as he was medically disqualified from competition.

The setback to Lomachenko last summer was his second major disappointment; there was not to be a third, at least not yet.

Most believed going in that Russell’s speed was going to be the dominant factor in separating himself from Gonzalez’ punching power, even if it meant avoid getting hit at all costs.

It never came to that. Russell took control early, and remained in the driver’s seat. Gonzalez couldn’t figure out how to adapt, thus spelling the end of his latest title reign.

A knockdown late in round three was the beginning of the end, the very opening Russell sought in taking over the fight for good.

“Honestly, I don’t think he recovered from the first knockdown,” Russell believes.

Whatever was Gonzalez’ mental and physical state at that time, he was in no position to slow down the bum rush. Two more knockdowns followed early in round four, the latter sequence prompting referee Tony Weeks to step in and rescue a now-battered Gonzalez.

The official time was 0:37 of round four. 

“We were never in this to turn it into a track meet,’’ insisted Russell, who advances to 26-0 (15KOs), having now won two straight in addition to his first major title as a pro. “We were going to stand right in the pocket. We know what Gonzalez likes to do, and that’s throw the wide left hook. I tried to bait him into throwing it and he did.”

 

While his opponent had him figured all out, Gonzalez was never able to solve the riddle. With that comes his latest career setback, as he falls to 57-9 (48KOs).

“I’m OK,’’ Gonzalez claimed afterward, though not before a full confession, sans excuses. “I did not expect this kind of fight at all. We expected him to run around the ring and for me to have to chase him down. But he didn’t.’’

Gonzalez leaves the ring now a three-time ex-titlist. His latest reign came about after scoring the 2013 Upset of the Year, knocking out previously unbeaten Abner Mares in one round. The win allowed Gonzalez to recapture his old title which he’d lost the prior September in a technical decision defeat at the hands of Daniel Ponce de Leon.

Prior to his pair of reigns at featherweight, Gonzalez served as a bantamweight titlist, having twice failed to capture the junior featherweight crown along the way.

As for Russell, this is the first of what believes will be many title wins in the pro ranks. There’s still a long way to go before proving he belongs with the featherweight elite. But don’t expect a career makeover from the newly crowned featherweight titlist in order to make that a reality.

“A lot of fighters get caught up in the hype, and they feel as though they have to do things a little more to win the fans over, etc.  That's never one of my things,” Russell suggests. “I always aim to be exciting without being reckless.”

For the first time at this level as a pro, Russell executed the plan to perfection. With that came a dream realized, a conclusion to a chapter first written some seven years ago.

In the evening’s chief support, Jermell Charlo outboxed Vanes Martirosyan just enough to take a unanimous decision over 10 rounds in a fight that was largely forgotten about the moment the open bell sounded to begin the evening’s main event.

Both bouts aired live on Showtime Championship Boxing. The event was the first under a new deal between Showtime and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox