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Boxing Odds and Ends: Canelo-GGG III and a Gary Russell Sr Tribute

It’s official. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will bypass a rematch with Dmitry Bivol in favor of a third meeting with Gennadiy “Triple-G” Golovkin. They will renew acquaintances on Saturday, Sept. 17, Mexican Independence Day weekend, at a site to be determined, most likely the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the site of their first two battles, or AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX (Jerry’s World) where Canelo drew 51,420 for his 2016 match with Liam Smith and 73,126 for his 2021 match with Billy Joe Saunders, the latter a North American record for a boxing card at an indoor venue. At stake will be Canelo’s undisputed (four-belt) super middleweight title. A career-long middleweight with one exception — his June 2019 fight with Steve Rolls was contested at the catchweight of 164 pounds — GGG will be making his first start at 168.
Canelo and Triple-G first fought on Sept. 16, 2017 and rematched a year later. The first meeting ended in a draw and Canelo won the second by a majority decision. Both outcomes were controversial.
Since then, Canelo is 7-1, adding world titles at 168 and 175. GGG, who left trainer Abel Sanchez after his second meeting with Canelo, replacing him with Emanuel Steward disciple Johnathan Banks, is 4-0, advancing his record to 42-1-1 (37). He was dominant against two soft opponents and against capable Ryota Murata, but had a very hard test with Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Of greater import from a handicapping standpoint, he turned 40, reaching that milestone on April 8. Canelo Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) is the younger man by eight years.
Pundits have criticized the powers that be for letting the trilogy fight languish until both men, but especially Golovkin, were theoretically past their prime. However, the first two encounters between these gladiators, both surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers, provided 24 rounds of white-knuckle entertainment and the third installment, a DAZN pay-per-view, is a guaranteed blockbuster.
R.I.P. Gary Russell Sr
Gary Russell Sr, the patriarch of a boxing dynasty, passed away Monday, May 23, at age 63 from complications of diabetes. Russell had been in and out of the hospital these last few months. He had his left foot amputated in December and was confined to a wheelchair.
Russell, who was raised in the crime-ridden Trinidad neighborhood of Washington DC, boxed as an amateur and passed his love of the sport on to his sons, all of whom, in the fashion of George Foreman, he named Gary. Under his tutelage, four of his sons were national amateur champions, two made the U.S. Olympic team, and three – Gary Russell Jr, Gary Antonio Russell, and Gary Antuanne Russell — are currently active professionals with a combined record of 65-2.
A featherweight, Gary Russell Jr, 33, is 31-2 (18). Both of his losses were by majority decision, the first to Vasyl Lomachenko and the second to Mark Magsayo in January of this year in the sixth defense of his WBC belt. He injured his shoulder during the Magsayo fight and was reduced to a one-armed boxer for most of the bout.
Gary Antonio Russell, 29, a bantamweight, last fought in November, out-pointing Alexandro Santiago to advance his record to 19-0 (12).
Gary Antuanne Russell, 25, a super lightweight, left the amateur ranks after losing a controversial decision to his Uzbekistani opponent in the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a pro he’s undefeated, winning all 15 of his fights inside the distance. It is rumored that his next fight will come against former two-division world title-holder Rances Barthelemy.
Gary Russell Sr emphasized the cerebral component of boxing. “My father told me what creates a war is two fighters that didn’t have a Plan B…That’s what makes the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter, the level of intellect,” said Gary Russell Jr. The elder Russell also encouraged his sons to invest their ring earnings in real estate.
The proudest moment for the Russell family came on May 20, 2017, the elder Russell’s 58th birthday, when all three of his fighting sons appeared on the same card at the new MGM Inner Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, roughly 15 minutes from the family home in Capitol Heights where the brothers first donned the mitts in a basement gym. Gary Russell Jr, Gary Antonio, and Gary Antuanne won their matches by stoppage. It was Gary Antuanne’s pro debut.
As noted by award-winning writer Ronan Keenan, the event was a woolly affair marred by several brawls in the audience, but the Russell brothers brought honor to the family by their deportment, avoiding any hint of arrogance or bombast in their pre-fight and post-fight pronouncements.
Gary Russell Sr was no stranger to heartbreak. A son by a previous marriage, named Devaun, was murdered in 2004. Another of his sons, Gary Boosa Russell, died from cardiac arrest two months before Christmas in 2020.
We here at The Sweet Science send our condolences.
Arne K. Lang’s latest book, titled “George Dixon, Terry McGovern and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910,” will shortly roll off the press. The book, published by McFarland, can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher (https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/clashof-the-little-giants) or via Amazon.
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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