Ring Ratings Update: Where to rank Gary Russell Jr. (if at all)?
Gary Russell Jr.’s WBC featherweight reign – the longest world title run in any weight class (almost 2,500 days) – came to an end on Saturday when the marvelously skilled but woefully inactive southpaw was outhustled and narrowly outpointed by Mark Magsayo.
Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs), the younger, bigger, fresher (and, of course, more active) challenger, won via close majority decision (114-114 and two 115-113 scores), but the majority of fans watching the live Showtime broadcast expressed (via Twitter) that the 26-year-old Philippines native deserved to win at least eight rounds despite the classy ring generalship displayed by Russell, who was hampered by a right shoulder injury that he clearly aggravated in Round 4.
Russell (31-2, 18 KOs) did not throw a single jab over the second half of the fight (Rounds 6-12). He only landed in double digits (10) in one round (the third), and only landed 69 total punches during the fight, according to CompuBox stats. Magsayo, who was made to miss a lot during the middle rounds, only landed 150 total punches (including 26 body shots) but that was enough to give him an edge on the official scorecards.
Magsayo entered the bout as The Ring’s No. 4-rated featherweight, so he was obviously going to advance into the top three following the biggest victory of his career.
The question that caused a debate among the Ring Ratings Panel was where to place Russell, who had been dropped from the rankings due to – surprise, surprise – inactivity prior to the announcement of the Magsayo defense.
Panelist Anson Wainwright suggested Russell re-enter the rankings at No. 3 (behind WBO beltholder Emanuel Navarette and Magsayo), which was backed by panelist Adam Abramowitz. However, Managing Editor Tom Gray was not in favor of Russell re-entering the rankings (let alone getting back in above far more active featherweights). Other members of the panel were of the opinion that Russell deserved to re-enter but not as high as No. 3.
“Magsayo to No. 2 and Russell to re-enter at No. 3,” said Wainwright. “Looking forward to seeing what’s next and how Magsayo goes from here. Russell said during fight week that he had a slight injury, and the shoulder clearly flared up in Round 4. Looks like more time on the sidelines, but his talent is without question, he showed heart in this fight. Hope he’s back and healthy soon.”
Abramowitz was impressed with Russell’s performance.
“I agree with Anson with Russell at No. 3,” he said. “He came really close to beating a top contender with just one hand.”
However, Gray didn’t see it that way.
“Why would Russell move to No. 3?” asked the managing editor. “He’d had one fight in two years – or seven fights in seven years – and got removed from the ratings. He comes back injured; his shoulder goes gimpy in the fight (he was losing before that); he averages 27 punches thrown per-round and loses his title. From there, he’s to vault over fighters that have been considerably more active and scored career-defining wins?
“I get that Russell’s performance was hampered due to injury, but (Saturday) night is all we have from him in a two-year period. I rate Russell – I rate him big time – but until I see the ex-champ produce results that merit a Ring rating, I will not endorse his inclusion. I admire the fact that he lasted 12 rounds, but a lot of that was down to very poor offensive choices on the part of Magsayo.”
Montero advocated for a lower ranking.
“The 126-pound division is wide open at the moment,” he said. “Regarding Russell, I can see both sides of the argument. He’s been criminally inactive and it caught up with him Saturday night, but he’s still clearly one of the top featherweights in the world when healthy. Maybe we bring him back into the ratings, but not quite as high as No. 3?”
Panelist Diego Morilla was also OK with Russell re-entering the rankings, but definitely not in the top five.
“To me, Russell should be placed much lower,” he said. “Everything about his career suggests he is committed to doing the least amount of work possible while requesting the most from fans and press and everyone else. Fighting once a year, complaining about everything being against him all the time, pushing the limits on the sanctioning bodies and fighting only when he’s about to be stripped or downgraded, and then fighting while knowingly injured and expecting everyone to feel sorry about him. It doesn’t work that way, and it is detrimental to the Magsayos of the world, who put in the hard work.
“I like him, but I wouldn’t move him up or down based on what I know he can do when healthy and happy, but rather on what he actually does. I’d re-enter him at No. 6 or so and let him earn his way up, hopefully by fighting within the next 10 months for a change.”
Panelist Martin Mulcahey weighed in:
“I do think Russell is top 10, just not top three given the loss, inactivity, new injury, and problems making weight. My problem is that the 126-pound division is really weak outside the top three, or else I would say keep Russell out. So, I would compromise and say Russell at No. 5, which is lower than if he would have been our No. 1 and then lost a close fight.”
Wainwright argued on Russell’s behalf, bringing up the 33-year-old veteran’s excellent body of work.
“Exactly my point,” said Wainwright. “He took apart the No. 5-ranked Kiko Martinez and dominated No. 8 Tugstogt Nyambayar (in his last two successful title defenses). I get he hasn’t been as active as others but to me that doesn’t take away from the fact he’s very talented and running Magsayo so close with one arm, to me, means he should be right behind him.”
Panelist Daisuke Sugiura weighed in:
“I can see both sides too. I do think he’s still better than Kiko Martinez or Josh Warrington, but the bottom line is he hasn’t had a win since February of 2020 and is continuously inactive. Bringing him back into the ratings is still probably the right call after showing his talents again with one arm (Saturday), but I’d rank him at No. 6 just as Mr. Morlilla says, right behind Kiko, who just had one of the biggest wins of his career.”
Gray reminded the panel that boxing is a ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately’ sport:
“(Bringing up Russell’s fifth-round stoppage of Kiko Martinez) is a salient point until you factor in that Martinez has fought five times since losing to Russell over two-and-a-half years ago. And during that time, he’s knocked out an unbeaten titleholder (Kid Galahad) in five rounds.
“We all know how good Russell is, but he’s a victim of his own doing. I’m not going to dismiss his inactivity because he happens to be a talented fighter. One bout in two years (a points defeat) and he struts back in at No. 3? When I consider how difficult it’s been for a lot of fighters to secure a top-10 rating, I find that unthinkable.
“If every fighter adopted Russell’s approach, you wouldn’t have a sport. The WBC should have stripped him of his world title A LONG time ago and that’s the reality. When Mr. Russell comes back – late this year would be nice – and avenges the loss to Magsayo, I’ll happily vote for his re-entry. On point, the guy’s brilliant, but I want to see a performance that merits such a high rating.”
Anson replied:
“Well thought out, Tom. Would you rate him at all?
“I totally get the inactivity point and it’s been terrible to see him be so inactive. While nobody at world level has been less active during that stretch, we have guys (rated) like Fury, Wilder, Billy Joe Saunders, who also haven’t been active. We haven’t penalized them. Totally agree on the activity point but I wouldn’t not rank him for that reason.”
Retorted Gray:
“Ummmm, probably not (regarding Russell being rated at all). Fury was stripped of The Ring title and taken out of the ratings for inactivity. Wilder’s longest period of inactivity took place around the pandemic and the on-and-off again trilogy match with Fury. I’ve checked Saunders – again that looks to have taken place around the pandemic. Is there another period I’ve missed? I can see a year here and there, but he’s still been a lot more active than Russell. The standout difference with Russell is that his inactivity stretches back seven years.”
RING RATINGS UPDATE
Junior welterweight – Subriel Matias advances one spot to No. 4 after avenging his only pro defeat with a ninth-round stoppage of Petros Ananyan.
Featherweight – Magsayo advances to No. 2. Russell re-enters at No. 6. Tugstogt Nyambayar exits the rankings after fighting unrated Sakaria Lukas to a 10-round draw.
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