“When a dog chases you, don’t run. Sometimes, you’ve got to tame him.” Gary Antonio Russell lived his late father’s mantra on Friday, turning back Colombia’s Dervin Rodriguez with a clean sweep - 80-72 on all cards - on a ProBox TV bill at the RP Funding Center. Mixing a spiteful southpaw jab with measured resistance, Russell neutralized Rodriguez’s bullish surges, knocking out the mouthpiece with a stiff left and winning every exchange that mattered.
“I’m a big believer that the smarter fighter should win most of the time,” Russell said. “When he decided to press, I had to sit there and tame him.” The performance nudges him closer to the names that matter at 122: WBA champion Naoya Inoue, September 14 challenger and interim titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev, and the WBA’s No. 1 Ramon Cardenas - the man Russell now wants next. “Any of the top opponents that put me in line for a belt, I’d love to take. I like the matchup.”
With brother Gary Russell Jr. in the corner and Gary Antuanne Russell watching on, the 32-year-old blended poise and pop: pivot–jab resets to blunt pressure, then sharp three-punch replies that steadily dulled Rodriguez. Even when cornered late, Russell stood his ground and won the trade - evidence his ring IQ is matching the family name.
The undercard minted fresh faces: junior featherweight Kenyan Valle cruised 40-36 x3; New York junior welter Miguel Mendez scored a knockdown and won 39-36, 39-36, 38-37; Armenian pressure-fighter Narek Hovhannisyan dominated 60-54; and Hawaii lightweight Noah Timoteo thundered to a first-round KO at 2:34. But the night belonged to Russell - who didn’t run from the dog, he trained it - and now aims that discipline at Cardenas and a path to gold.
Image Credit: PBC