Gary Antonio Russell (born 19 January 1993) is an American professional boxer. He has held the WBA interim super-bantamweight title since August 2026.
Professional career Russell twice reached the finals of Golden Gloves as an amateur, winning the gold medal in 2013 and finishing as a runner-up in 2014.
Russell made his professional debut against Harold Reyes on 31 January 2015. He won the fight by a second-round knockout. He amassed a 15–0 record during the next five years, winning 12 of those fights by way of stoppage. Russell had his first step-up in competition against Jesus Martinez on 8 February 2020, on the undercard of the WBC featherweight championship bout between Gary Russell Jr. and Tugstsogt Nyambayar. Gonzalez was disqualified in the sixth round for repeatedly hitting Russell low and holding in the fifth and sixth rounds. Russell was leading 50–45 on all three of the judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Russell faced Juan Carlos Payano on 19 December 2020, on the undercard of the WBC interim featherweight title bout between Reymart Gaballo and his future opponent Emmanuel Rodríguez. He won the fight by a seventh-round technical decision, with scores of 59–55, 59–55 and 58–56. The fight was stopped at the very beginning of the seventh round, due to a cut above Payano's left eye, which was caused by an accidental head clash in the fifth round.
Russell faced the former IBF bantamweight champion, Emmanuel Rodríguez, on 14 August 2021, in a WBA bantamweight title eliminator, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The fight was ruled a no decision after just 16 seconds. Referee Sharon Sands ruled that Rodriguez was unable to continue, due to a cut on the bridge of his nose which came from an accidental clash of heads. Russel fought once more in 2021, against Alexandro Santiago on 27 November 2021. He won the fight by majority decision, with scores of 95–95, 96–94 and 96–94.
Russel faced Emmanuel Rodríguez on 15 October 2022, in a WBA and IBF bantamweight title eliminator. The bout was a rematch of their 14 August 2021 fight, which ended in a no contest, due to a clash of heads in the opening round. Just like their first meeting, the fight was stopped when Rodríguez was unable to continue following an accidental clash of heads. However, this time the bout had reached the 10th round and therefore went to the judges to decide a winner. Russell lost by technical decision, with scores of 100–90, 99–91 and 99–93.
On 22 August 2026, he won the WBA interim super-bantamweight title by defeating defending champion Victor Santillan via unanimous decision at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, on 22 August 2026.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes24WinVictor SantillanUD1222 Aug 202623WinDervin RodriguezUD815 Aug 202522WinJaden BurniasKO4 (6), 19 Oct 202421Loss19–1 Emmanuel RodríguezTD10 (12), 15 Oct 202220Win19–0 Alexandro SantiagoMD1027 Nov 20211918–0 Emmanuel RodríguezNC1 (12), 14 Aug 202118Win18–0Juan Carlos PayanoTD7 (10), 19 Dec 202017Win17–0Jesus MartinezDQ6 (8), 8 Feb 202016Win16–0Samuel Gutierrez HernandezTKO1 (10), 2 Nov 201915Win15–0Francisco Javier PedrozaUD1013 Jul 201914Win14–0Saul Eduardo HernandezTD6 (8), 18 May 201913Win13–0Jose Maria CardenasTKO6 (8), 2 Mar 201912Win12–0Nick OtienoKO1 (8), 24 Aug 201811Win11–0Jonathan Lecona RamosTKO5 (6), 19 May 201810Win10–0Marco Antonio Mendoza ChicoKO1 (6), 21 Nov 20179Win9–0Christian RenteriaKO3 (6), 19 Sep 20178Win8–0Jovany FuentesTKO3 (6), 20 May 20177Win7–0Rudolph HedgeUD628 Jun 20166Win6–0Alberto SernaTKO2 (6), 16 Apr 20165Win5–0Eduardo MelendezTKO3 (6), 30 Oct 20154Win4–0Manuel RubalcavaKO2 (6), 12 Sep 20153Win3–0Jaxel MarreroUD411 Jul 20152Win2–0Brandon GarvinTKO1 (4), 23 May 20151Win1–0Harold ReyesKO2 (4), 31 Jan 2015
References