What a bizarre and awfully guided career Gary Russell Jr. has had. He goes 24-0 against lesser opposition and looks spectacular doing it. He is generating hype. He is being described the fastest fighter in the sport. He is 25 years old and clearly taking the long way 'round to a title shot. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, for not much money, he decides to fight a 1-1 double gold medalist coming off a LOSS who the public sees as an exposed hype job but boxing insiders know to be a serious threat. 1-1 Lomachenko could not have been more high risk low reward for a fighter like Russell Jr. Why did he take this fight? He's clearly not chasing greatness and is in this sport to make some coins. Is this simply one of the worst career choices in recent memory? There are some huge names emerging in and around Gary's weight class, but no one mentions him. His hype got extinguished in 2014, and fighting the dreaded "TBA" once a year hasn't reignited it.
Clearly. It just doesn't line up with the rest of his career. 24 can crushing exhibitions to diving off the deep end, back to can crushing, and now his prime is just about over.
He had to have believed to his core that he was going to win, with no other scenario than him winning.
Grj is a weird dude very talented but doesnt love the sport. I think he took the loma fight thinking he would win easily he was humbled and that took away what little love left he had for the sport. He doesn't care about the sport only sees it now as a job to provide for his family. He reminds me of this guy i went to high school with who was very talented in football. One day he made a bad play the coach yelled at him and he quit the team right there in the middle of the game. It was like his ego couldn't take being humbled like that.
I think it's a shame that he's basically known as the guy Loma beat to win the title in his 3rd fight. He was out of his depth in that fight because he hadn't been challenged in his 24 previous fights. He never grew as a fighter. He was capable of achieving a lot more.
Yeah m8 it's a shame because he's super talented and he was very competitive in that fight...why do you think he's never grown?
Very talented fighter but Loma harvested his oompa loopma soul and I hope he never returns it to him.
