Gary Antuanne Russell W12 Jose Valenzuela... Maryland's Gary Antuanne Russell, 138.2 pounds, joined his brother Gary Russell, Jr. on the roll call of boxing champions. Garay Antuanne, a 2016 Olympian, rebounded from his first defeat to capture the WBA junior welterweight title on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with a dominant twelve-round unanimous decision victory against fellow southpaw Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, 138.8 lbs., of Los Mochis, Mexico. Valenzuela was coming off of his title-winning victory against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz last August. As the co-feature to the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Amazon Prime on PPV event, Russell was the busier, more accurate puncher throughout. Valenzuela was game-but-outgunned, having a few fleeting moments of success. Russell badly hurt Valenzuela with a volley of punches in round nine, but he showed plenty of heart to remain in the fight until the final bell. The scorecards read 120-108, and 119-109 (twice), all for Russell who is now 18-1 with 17 KOs. Valenzuela’s record dropped to 14-3 with 9 KOs. 

 

“This is a small stepping stone for me. I’m going for the rest of the belts,” said Russell. “A rule of thumb in my profession is you have to follow instructions. My brother [Gary Jr., the former WBC featherweight champion who is know Gary Antuanne's trainer] always told me, the difference between great and good is inches or centimeters and the ability to produce because that's what it takes. Valenzuela motivated me a hell of a lot. In this sport, you have to be dominant. You have to have a rough mentality, and he brought it out of me. I had the right dance partner in front of me and I’m glad he gave me the opportunity. I told him to keep that same energy because I’m bringing it in the ring.

 

“My [late] father [the Russell sibling's original trainer] would be proud of me. This is a stepping stone. This is a marathon. In a marathon, you come across the table with some water, but that’s just a pitstop so you can keep going to the next. I’m coming!”