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NBCOlympics.com - Russell puts flash, flair in Olympic boxing team
This a good fighter with all the dimensions of becoming a good fighter in the pros. Some even compare him to have the same fighting style as Ali and Mayweather. Eventhough he has a torn shoulder that will require surgery after the Olympics, I still feel that he's capable of becoming a gold medalist.
Gary Russell Jr.
Weight Class: Bantamweight/119 pounds
Height: 5-3
Weight: 119 lbs
Born: June 5, 1988
Lives: Capital Heights, Md.
Coach: Gary Russell, Sr. and Robert Martin
Club: Enigma Boxing
Began boxing: 1995
Family Ties: Russell's three younger brothers also box and all four are trained by their father, Gary Russell, Sr.
Did you know: Russell is the youngest member of USA Boxing's Elite Team and won both the U.S. Championships and National Golden Gloves while he was still 16
2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BRONZE MEDALIST
2005 NATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPION
2005 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD MEDALIST
2004 JUNIOR OLYMPIC CHAMPION
2005 World Cup: dec. Chavazhi Khatsygov, BLR, 21-20; lost on points to Maksim Khalikov, RUS, 31-22
National Golden Gloves: won on retirement over John Franklin, RET-3, in first round; dec. Enrique Vasquez, 5-0, in quarterfinals; dec. Rico Ramos, 5-0, in semifinals; dec. Sergio Perales, 5-0, in finals for 1st.
U.S. Championships: dec. Jorge Diaz, 13-10, in preliminaries; stopped Issac Viscarra, RSC-1, in quarterfinals; dec. Troy Wohosky, 14-5, in semifinals; dec. Sytel Wilbarn, 16-5, in finals for 1st
Bio
Russell who has three boxing brothers started boxing in 1995 and is trained by his father. In 2004 he became Junior Olympic Champion.
At age 16 he won both the U.S. Championships and the Golden Gloves in 2005. He became one of only two boxers to win both the U.S. Championships and National Golden Gloves before his 17th birthday. In October 2005 the small southpaw boxer-puncher had a record of 163-10.
In November 2005 at the world championships in Mianyang the bantamweight(119lbs) beat Bulgarian Detelin Stefanov Dalakliev, 25-21, in the first round; dec. Canadian Tyson Cave, 22-9, in the second round; dec. Jordanian Al Gharaghir Ibrahim, 34-13 before losing to German Rustamhodza Rahimov, 28-17 thus winning the bronze medal at age 17 (joining Rau'shee Warren)and was named 2005 USA BOXING Athlete of the year.
He repeated his national title win in 2006, at the US championships 2007 he was injured. He has broken his hands in the past.
At the Olympic Trials 2007 he sensationally lost to Roberto Marroquin in his first fight (17:18), his first defeat to a countryman in eight years, but beat him twice later and bested national champion Rios to qualify. Russell became only the fourth boxer in U.S. team history to lose in the opening round and rebound to win his weight class, the others were Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
At the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chicago he beat Ali Hallab to qualify for the Olympics but was beaten soundly by Russia's eventual winner Sergey Vodopyanov 16-6 and didn't medal.
He is guided by his father, his "mitt man" Robert "Herb" Martin, and his strength and conditioning coach Floyd Seymour, a former Olympic boxer who rigorously trains Russell two hours a day.
YouTube - Team USA Sparring in Argentina featuring Gary Russell Jr.
This man can do some damage in the Olympics so watch out!
, it's not like he didn't want to be in the Olympics. I guess they felt that he let them down.
