Mark Magsayo was a solid underdog and not given too big of a chance by many against Gary Russell Jr, but the Filipino kept his undefeated record and gained the WBC featherweight title, kicking off Showtime’s 2022 boxing schedule with an upset majority decision win.
Magsayo (24-0, 16 KO) won on scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 115-113. Bad Left Hook’s unofficial cards had it 115-113 Russell and 114-114, a tight — and unusual — fight that could have gone either way, probably.
Russell (31-2, 18 KO) said before the fight that he was dealing with a shoulder injury, and it definitely showed up after the first few rounds, leaving the 33-year-old American a one-handed fighter for the vast majority of the bout.
The southpaw Russell usually features a good jab and a sharp right hook, but his right hand was basically a non-factor in this fight. That said, Magsayo tactically didn’t take advantage nearly as much as he could have, as he kept moving to Russell’s left, leaving the defending titlist able to throw nicely-timed left hands, which he did land when he let them go.
Magsayo may not have done anything outstandingly special from an observer’s point of view, and may even have made some major mistakes that kept this fight closer than it might have been. But the limited Russell also didn’t do anything to take any great control of the bout, ultimately and truly leaving it up to the judges’ interpretation of the action, and two of them preferred what Magsayo did over 12 rounds.
As for the size of the upset, it wasn’t exactly Andy Ruiz Jr over Anthony Joshua or Mike Tyson being knocked out by Buster Douglas, but DraftKings Sportsbook did have Russell as a -360 favorite, with Magsayo a +275 underdog coming into the bout.
“This was my dream since I was a kid, and now I’m world champion!” Magsayo said after the fight. Asked about the shoulder injury, Magsayo said he felt it was a punch that made it worse. “It was a little bit of an advantage for me, with him using only one hand. That was an opportunity for me.”
Magsayo said it was up to his team whether there would be a rematch — as a mandatory fight, it’s not in the contract — but said he’s ready for anyone.
“I believe I have a torn tendon in my right shoulder,” Russell said. “I haven’t competed in almost two years. This is what true champions do. I wanted to display my superiority regardless of the injury. I did that. I gave him a boxing lesson. I landed clean whenever I wanted to. I still was able to touch him at will.”
Russell said he picked up the injury “about two weeks ago,” and said he “refused to not compete.”
“Please believe I will be back,” he said. “I still want these fights. I’m about to get my shoulder fixed and we will be back.”
Russell also said it was an “old injury” that goes back to 2008. He said he will request a rematch.
Russell had held the WBC title since beating Jhonny Gonzalez on March 28, 2015, and went on a long, routinely-criticized title reign, making just six title defenses — counting tonight’s fight — in just shy of seven years, fighting once per year from 2015-20, and then sitting out all of 2021 before his return against Magsayo.
