Mark Magsayo Takes Advantage of Damaged Goods and Upsets Gary Russell Jr

SHOWTIME was at the Borgata in Atlantic City tonight with a tripleheader. In the main go, WBC featherweight champion Gary Allen Russell Jr, who had the odd distinction of being the sport’s longest-reigning and least active world title-holder, was dethroned by Mark Magsayo in a bout that begs for a rematch, not because it was fan-friendly, but because Magsayo’s win was tainted. Russell was handicapped by an injury to his right shoulder that reduced him to a one-armed fighter for most of the battle.

It appeared that the injury happened in the fourth frame when Russell winced after taking a punch on his right shoulder. However, in his post-fight interview with Jim Gray, Russell allowed that he may have torn a tendon in the shoulder two weeks ago in training camp. Even with that handicap, Russell, who started slowly, almost kept his title, losing a majority decision. One of the judges had it a draw, but the others credited Magsayo with winning seven of the 12 rounds.

A protégé of Manny Pacquiao, his Filipino countryman, Magsayo is the latest fighter to win a world title with Freddie Roach in his corner. He entered the bout undefeated (23-0, 16 KOs), but was a heavy underdog against Russell, now 31-2, whose lone previous defeat was also by majority decision, that coming in 2014 at the hands of Vasyl Lomachenko.

Co-Feature

In the semi wind-up, an action-packed slugfest, Subriel Matias avenged the lone defeat on his ledger and advanced to 18-1 (18 KOs) with late-round TKO over game but out-gunned Petros Ananyan (16-3-2). Ananyan went down hard after absorbing a vicious left hook right before the bell ending round nine and the ring physician wouldn’t let him come out for the 10^th. There was no dissent as the tide had turned strongly in Matias’s favor (shades of the tragic Matias-Dadashev fight) and Ananyan’s visage bore witness that he had taken a frightful amount of punishment.

In their first meeting in February of last year at the MGM Grand, Ananyan, an LA-based Armenian, methodically wore Matias down to win a close but unanimous decision in a major upset. Puerto Rico’s Matias, 29, was a different fighter tonight. His victory may have earned him a match with Argentina’s Jeremiah Ponce for a vacant IBF title.

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In the TV opener, a 10-round featherweight contest, Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-2-1) had a strong final round to salvage a draw with late sub Sakaria Lukas, a 37-year-old sergeant in the Namibian Marine Corps. The judges had it 96-94, 94-96, and 95-95.

There were no official knockdowns, but a knockdown by the Namibian that was ruled a slip in round eight factored large in the outcome.  A 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Mongolia, the LA-based Nayambayar, formerly a well-regarded prospect, is 1-2-1 in his last four. Lucas, a big underdog, was 25-1 heading in.

In an undercard fight of note, Evan Holyfield improved to 9-0 (6) with a 6-round unanimous decision over gritty but outclassed Chris Rollins (5-4-1). It was something of a moral victory for Rollins, a 32-year-old campaigner from Charlottesville, VA, who wasn’t expected to last the distance.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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