Fighting Russell family hopes for hat trick Saturday at MGM National Harbor Through the sweltering 95-degree heat inside a cramped Enigma Boxing Gym that's tucked away in a small industrial park in this Washington D.C. suburb, you can spot a Russell in every corner. There’s Gary Jr., 28, the oldest of the burgeoning boxing dynasty and currently the family’s representative world champion, with his lightning-fast hands — many call them the fastest in boxing — pounding the mitts held by his brother Gary Allan, a boxer turned cornerman. Gary Antonio, 24, is smacking the heavy bag. And 20-year-old Gary Antuanne alternately grimaces and g
Fighting Russell family hopes for hat trick Saturday at MGM National Harbor
Through the sweltering 95-degree heat inside a cramped Enigma Boxing Gym that's tucked away in a small industrial park in this Washington D.C. suburb, you can spot a Russell in every corner.
There’s Gary Jr., 28, the oldest of the burgeoning boxing dynasty and currently the family’s representative world champion, with his lightning-fast hands — many call them the fastest in boxing — pounding the mitts held by his brother Gary Allan, a boxer turned cornerman. Gary Antonio, 24, is smacking the heavy bag. And 20-year-old Gary Antuanne alternately grimaces and grins while pounding on a huge truck tire with a sledge hammer.
The head honcho and family patriarch, Gary Sr., who trains his sons — yep, all six are named Gary, though only four are involved in boxing — is surrounded by media as he prepares his three sons for one of his family’s biggest moments in the sport.
On Saturday night, about 14 miles down the I-495 beltway at the new MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., the Russells will celebrate Gary Sr.’s birthday and 31st wedding anniversary and Gary Jr.’s first fight in his hometown.
They’re hopeful they’ll do it with three victories, including Gary Jr.’s WBC featherweight title defense against Colombian challenger Oscar Escandon in the main event (Showtime, 6 p.m. ET). Antonio (7-0, 5 KOs) will try to stay unbeaten and 20-year-old Antuanne makes his professional debut.
Another Maryland fighter from up the road in Baltimore, 22-year-old junior lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (17-0, 16 KOs), puts his IBF belt on the line against Liam Walsh from London, part of Showtime’s split-site telecast.
“It’s going to be history in the making,” said Gary Jr. (27-1, 16 KOs), who did not want to fight in his hometown until he was a champion. “We’re in familiar territory with making history. We were the first set of four brothers to win the National Golden Gloves, and I don’t see anyone breaking our record any time soon. I believe in a dynasty and I’m excited for my dad to see all of his hard work come together on fight night.”
Fight night was supposed to happen on March 11, with the Russells inaugurating the MGM for boxing, but a back injury suffered by Escandon postponed the fight.
As fate would have it, a month later, the first boxing event to christen the building was headlined by Vasyl Lomachenko, the Ukrainian two-division champion who three years earlier had defeated Gary Jr. by majority decision in a close fight. To this day, it’s the only professional loss suffered by any of the Russell brothers.
“I was disappointed that everything got backed up,” Gary Sr. said. “Then they brought in Lomachenko, and I’m like, ‘Oh no they didn’t bring him in our back yard.’ We took a loss to this kid. I couldn’t believe it. But we just got to roll on with it.”
Actually, he saw the postponement as a “blessing in disguise,” to give the sons, especially Gary Jr., more time to sharpen some of his considerable skills.
“I’m excited about it, but I just want to get it over with,” Gary Sr. said. “It’s been a hard grind. Trying to get all three of them prepared. I’m wearing so many hats. Picking up the (seven) sparring partners from the airport, dropping them off, making sure all the equipment is right, fixing equipment. I’m a little tired.”
His boys hope to put a smile on the face of their weary pop come Saturday night.
“We plan on giving our father a gift that he can’t buy on his birthday,” Antuanne says. “There’s been a lot of sets of two brothers but there’s never been three as far as I know. There have been the Klitschkos (Vitali and Wladimir), the Dirrells (Anthony and Andre, who is also fighting on Saturday’s card) and the Charlos (Jermall and Jermell, who was on the original card), but those are just two. We’re breaking new ground.” (Actually, there have been a few sets of three brothers who boxed professionally, most notably Floyd Sr., Roger and Jeff Mayweather.)
Conspicuous by its absence inside the Enigma Gym is any hint of trash talk. All three fighting Russells are exceedingly polite, well-spoken and above all, respectful of everyone. And they're accomplished.
Gary Jr. and Antuanne are former Olympians. Antuanne was the valedictorian of his class at Croom Vocational High School in Prince George’s County, and in fact had the highest GPA in the county during his senior year. He turned down a scholarship to the University of Maryland to qualify for the Olympics, where he won his first two bouts in Rio, then lost in what Gary Sr. calls a robbery.
For the Russells, family comes first. Antuanne is careful not to forget one of the most important people in his life. “It’s amazing what my dad did, but you can’t forget about my mom,” he says of Lawan Russell. “Behind every king is a strong queen. My mom is the most important woman in my life. Other than that, it’s tunnel vision, in school, in the gym or anything else I do in my life.”
Right now that tunnel vision is fixated on the dawn of his boxing career, centered around his mentor and role model.
“Gary Jr. is my vision. I needed a role model and there he is,” Antuanne says, pointing to his brother in the ring. “I needed someone to keep me humble and keep me out of trouble.”
Antonio echoes those sentiments. “I watch everything that my older brother does and I learn from his mistakes,” he said. “He makes sure that I don’t make those same mistakes. He critiques me every way, through life and in the gym.”
To be sure, there’s more to the Russells than boxing. “Me and my whole family talk a lot and about everything. Not just about boxing,” says Antuanne. “Boxing is what I do, but it’s not who I am. . . . Don’t just look at me as a jock.”
One day, you might look at him as a real estate tycoon. “Real estate is in my future. We’re going to own our own properties and be the shot-callers,” Antuanne says with confidence. “I’ve been getting educated from my brother and my father.”
For now though, the family’s education is in boxing. A year after his loss to Lomachenko, Gary Jr. stopped Jhonny Gonzalez to win the WBC title he currently holds. Escandon is his second defense. If he gets past the tough Colombian, he hopes to get a unification fight in the loaded featherweight division.
“If we do that successfully,” says Gary Sr., “our next move is to move up, and like Gary (Jr.) says, ‘Mr. Lomachenko is going to have to see me again before his career ends’.”
Antuanne sums up the Russell family goals like a valedictorian speaking to his graduating class.
“We’re looking to build a dynasty and I believe that May 20 will be a memento to our dynasty-building,” he says. “I hope I’m at the championship level in the next five years. We’re going to run this thing correctly.”
Source:- https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2017/05/18/russell-family-gary-jr-antuanne-antonio-boxing-mgm-showtime/101803164/
rins while pounding on a huge truck tire with a sledge hammer. The head honcho and family patriarch, Gary Sr., who trains his sons — yep, all six are named Gary, though only four are involved in boxing — is surrounded by media as he prepares his three sons for one of his family’s biggest moments in the sport. On Saturday night, about 14 miles down the I-495 beltway at the new MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., the Russells will celebrate Gary Sr.’s birthday and 31st wedding anniversary and Gary Jr.’s first fight in his hometown. They’re hopeful they’ll do it with three victories, including Gary Jr.’s WBC featherweight title defense against Colombian challenger Oscar Escandon in the main event (Showtime, 6 p.m. ET). Antonio (7-0, 5 KOs) will try to stay unbeaten and 20-year-old Antuanne makes his professional debut. Another Maryland fighter from up the road in Baltimore, 22-year-old junior lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (17-0, 16 KOs), puts his IBF belt on the line against Liam Walsh from London, part of Showtime’s split-site telecast. “It’s going to be history in the making,” said Gary Jr. (27-1, 16 KOs), who did not want to fight in his hometown until he was a champion. “We’re in familiar territory with making history. We were the first set of four brothers to win the National Golden Gloves, and I don’t see anyone breaking our record any time soon. I believe in a dynasty and I’m excited for my dad to see all of his hard work come together on fight night.” Fight night was supposed to happen on March 11, with the Russells inaugurating the MGM for boxing, but a back injury suffered by Escandon postponed the fight. As fate would have it, a month later, the first boxing event to christen the building was headlined by Vasyl Lomachenko, the Ukrainian two-division champion who three years earlier had defeated Gary Jr. by majority decision in a close fight. To this day, it’s the only professional loss suffered by any of the Russell brothers. “I was disappointed that everything got backed up,” Gary Sr. said. “Then they brought in Lomachenko, and I’m like, ‘Oh no they didn’t bring him in our back yard.’ We took a loss to this kid. I couldn’t believe it. But we just got to roll on with it.” Actually, he saw the postponement as a “blessing in disguise,” to give the sons, especially Gary Jr., more time to sharpen some of his considerable skills. “I’m excited about it, but I just want to get it over with,” Gary Sr. said. “It’s been a hard grind. Trying to get all three of them prepared. I’m wearing so many hats. Picking up the (seven) sparring partners from the airport, dropping them off, making sure all the equipment is right, fixing equipment. I’m a little tired.” His boys hope to put a smile on the face of their weary pop come Saturday night. “We plan on giving our father a gift that he can’t buy on his birthday,” Antuanne says. “There’s been a lot of sets of two brothers but there’s never been three as far as I know. There have been the Klitschkos (Vitali and Wladimir), the Dirrells (Anthony and Andre, who is also fighting on Saturday’s card) and the Charlos (Jermall and Jermell, who was on the original card), but those are just two. We’re breaking new ground.” (Actually, there have been a few sets of three brothers who boxed professionally, most notably Floyd Sr., Roger and Jeff Mayweather.) Conspicuous by its absence inside the Enigma Gym is any hint of trash talk. All three fighting Russells are exceedingly polite, well-spoken and above all, respectful of everyone. And they're accomplished. Gary Jr. and Antuanne are former Olympians. Antuanne was the valedictorian of his class at Croom Vocational High School in Prince George’s County, and in fact had the highest GPA in the county during his senior year. He turned down a scholarship to the University of Maryland to qualify for the Olympics, where he won his first two bouts in Rio, then lost in what Gary Sr. calls a robbery. For the Russells, family comes first. Antuanne is careful not to forget one of the most important people in his life. “It’s amazing what my dad did, but you can’t forget about my mom,” he says of Lawan Russell. “Behind every king is a strong queen. My mom is the most important woman in my life. Other than that, it’s tunnel vision, in school, in the gym or anything else I do in my life.” Right now that tunnel vision is fixated on the dawn of his boxing career, centered around his mentor and role model. “Gary Jr. is my vision. I needed a role model and there he is,” Antuanne says, pointing to his brother in the ring. “I needed someone to keep me humble and keep me out of trouble.” Antonio echoes those sentiments. “I watch everything that my older brother does and I learn from his mistakes,” he said. “He makes sure that I don’t make those same mistakes. He critiques me every way, through life and in the gym.” To be sure, there’s more to the Russells than boxing. “Me and my whole family talk a lot and about everything. Not just about boxing,” says Antuanne. “Boxing is what I do, but it’s not who I am. . . . Don’t just look at me as a jock.” One day, you might look at him as a real estate tycoon. “Real estate is in my future. We’re going to own our own properties and be the shot-callers,” Antuanne says with confidence. “I’ve been getting educated from my brother and my father.” For now though, the family’s education is in boxing. A year after his loss to Lomachenko, Gary Jr. stopped Jhonny Gonzalez to win the WBC title he currently holds. Escandon is his second defense. If he gets past the tough Colombian, he hopes to get a unification fight in the loaded featherweight division. “If we do that successfully,” says Gary Sr., “our next move is to move up, and like Gary (Jr.) says, ‘Mr. Lomachenko is going to have to see me again before his career ends’.” Antuanne sums up the Russell family goals like a valedictorian speaking to his graduating class. “We’re looking to build a dynasty and I believe that May 20 will be a memento to our dynasty-building,” he says. “I hope I’m at the championship level in the next five years. We’re going to run this thing correctly.” Source:- https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2017/05/18/russell-family-gary-jr-antuanne-antonio-boxing-mgm-showtime/101803164/
