Gary Russell, jr retained the WBC featherweight title with a 7th round stoppage over mandatory challenger Oscar Escandon at the MGM National Harbor in National Harbor, Maryland.

Russell dropped Escandon in round three from a swift combination that was punctuated with a left to the head.

Rusell finished off his challenger in round seven when he landed a hard combination that knocked Escandon down and referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout at 59 seconds.

Russell, 125 1/2 lbs of Capitol Heights, MD is now 28-1 with knockouts. Escandon, 125 3/4 lbs of Gilroy, CA is 25-3.

In a bout that was overshadowed by an incident that happened the fight, Andre Dirrell won the vacant IBF Interim Super Middleweight title when Jose Uzcategui was disqualified for hitting after the 8th round bell.

Uzcategui landed a left hook that landed on Dirrell’s chin that sent Direll to the canvas and the fight was ruled a disqualification.

After the bout, Dirrell’s uncle, Leon Lawson, Jr. cold-cocked Uzcategui and a melee ensued in the ring.

Dirrell, 167 1/2 lbs of Flint, MI is now 26-2. Uzcategui, 166 1/2 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 26-2.

Rances Barthelemy won a debated unanimous decision over Kiryl Relikh in a super lightweight bout.

In round five, Relikh landed a hard overhand right that buckled Barthelemy. Then a left hand clipped Barthelemy which was ruled a knockdown.

Barthelemy, 139 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas was able to win on cards 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111 despite being outlanded by a 240-137 margin.

Barthelemy is now 26-0-1. Relikh, 139 1/2 lbs of Minsk, BEL is 21-2.

NEW YORK (May 10, 2017) – America’s youngest world champion, Gervonta Davis, will make his first world title defense in the opening bout and featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr. will make his mandatory world title defense in the main event of a split-site, four-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event on Saturday, May 20, live on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT*.

Davis will travel to Britain to defend his IBF Junior Lightweight World Championship against undefeated No. 1-ranked contender and local favorite Liam Walsh from Copper Box Arena in London. Russell will make a long-awaited homecoming—his first professional fight in the region—and his second WBC Featherweight World Championship defense against mandatory challenger Oscar Escandon live from MGM National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C.

*Editors’ Note: In order to present all four bouts on one program, the Davis vs. Walsh bout may air on a delay basis of up to 30 minutes.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING host Brian Custer will anchor the four-fight telecast from Maryland with coverage of Davis vs. Walsh provided by BT Sport. Veteran sportscaster Mauro Ranallo will handle play-by-play at MGM National Harbor with Hall of Famer Al Bernstein and former two-division champion Paulie Malignaggi serving as analysts. Emmy award winning sports reporter Jim Gray and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Farhood will also serve from ringside. Secondary Audio Programming will be offered in Spanish by Alejandro Luna and former world champ Raúl Marquez.

From London, John Rawling will handle play-by-play for Davis vs. Walsh with former world champion Richie Woodhall providing the color commentary at Copper Box Arena.

“May 20 will be a big night of boxing and it kicks off a run of four consecutive weeks of world class fights on SHOWTIME,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “We have consistently delivered the biggest and most important boxing events from around the globe to SHOWTIME subscribers. This unique presentation—four fights, two world championships and two title eliminators, from different continents, all on one show—is yet another example of our unrivaled commitment to the sport.”

The 22-year-old Davis (17-0, 16 KOs) is the youngest reigning world champion from the United States and the second youngest in the world. The Baltimore native and Floyd Mayweather protégé will travel to hostile territory in his first title defense against Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs) in a matchup of undefeated southpaws.

Russell Jr. (27-1, 16 KOs) will look to make a statement in the loaded featherweight division against mandatory challenger Ecandon (25-2, 17 KOs), who owns a stunning knockout of former world champion Jesus Cuellar. Russell vs. Escandon is the sixth featherweight title bout on SHOWTIME since February 2016.

Two world title eliminators will round out the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING quadrupleheader. Top super middleweight contenders Andre Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) and José Uzcátegui (26-1, 22 KOs) will face off in an IBF Super Middleweight Eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for champion James DeGale.

Undefeated Rances Barthelemy (25-0, 13 KOs) will meet Kiryl Relikh (21-1, 19 KOs) in a WBA Super Lightweight Eliminator for unified champ Julius Indongo. Barthelemy, who won titles at 130 and 135, will earn an opportunity to become Cuba’s first three-division champion with a win over the hard-hitting Relikh.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing. To become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LONDON (June 18) – World title challenger Gary Russell Jr believes experience will prove pivotal when he faces the talented Vasyl Lomachenko for the WBO featherweight crown this weekend.

The pair are two of the hottest talents in the 126-pound division, having enjoyed glittering amateur careers, with both men now competing to capture their first world title when they do battle this Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko has not taken the easy option since turning professional, with his first fight a victory over the skilled Jose Ramirez before a split decision loss in an historic bid for the world title against the hardened Orlando Salido.

With only two professional bouts under his belt, Russell Jr, who has built up a record of 24 fights with 24 wins before taking his first stab at a world title, believes that Lomachenko isn’t prepared for what is coming his way at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

“I feel like this is something I’ve worked for for so long. I think that it is destiny, and I believe that some people who haven’t, they’re about ready to find out,” said Russell Jr.

“My team and I had a game plan when turning professional. You see these guys before that have been stellar amateurs and can’t make the necessary adjustments as professionals.

“We wanted to get the rounds in; we wanted to learn the ins and outs as a professional before we competed for a world title. We had a minor hiccup here and there, but other than that we stayed on course and we’re right on track.

“This is an occupation, this is what we do, and it’s something that I excel at. You know I can’t wait,” he said.

The Washington DC born star has taken some flak in recent times about the level of competition he has faced but he insists those fights will be to his benefit as he challenges for the world title.

“There’s going to be criticism [no matter what]. My dad told me you could never please everybody. You know we wanted to get to maybe 23-0, you know 22, 23-0 before we competed for a world title,” said Russell Jr.

“One of the reasons why is based on the fact that you can be an elite amateur, but when you become a professional it’s a completely different world.

“You’re not going the full rounds, you know you’re going 10, 12 hard rounds with guys that are putting in that extra work, and this is the only way that you can gain experience by getting these rounds in. We don’t want to take things like that for granted by not getting the rounds in,” he said.

The 26-year-old southpaw was named the 2011 Ring Magazine ‘Prospect of the Year’ but will now go in against a fighter in Lomachenko who is being fast tracked to the top.

However, Russell Jr is adamant that despite the buzz around the Ukrainian his is a style that cannot be imitated, which will prove to the detriment of Lomachenko when they share the ring.

“I think my hand speed will definitely be a big factor. I understand you could probably bring guys in to kind of mimic my style, but if they have the hand speed they don’t have the punching ability, and if they have my punching ability they don’t have my hand speed.

“There’s no way possible for them to duplicate what it is that I’m going to bring to the table on June 21,” said Russell Jr.

The gifted Lomachenko though has questioned the level of competition Russell Jr has stepped in with so far, believing that the men he has gone up against in his two professional bouts have been of a higher calibre than anyone the American has faced so far.

“I haven’t see all the fights, and I didn’t see all his opponents, but as far as I saw I can probably compare a few guys who were close to Jose Ramirez, but I’ve never seen any of them being as far as Salido,” said Lomachenko.

The 26-year-old ace is grateful for his second shot at a world title and believes he has learned from his initial challenge earlier this year with the Mexican Salido, who was stripped of his chance of winning the vacant WBO title at the time after failing to make weight.

“I learned how to adjust to professional boxing, because I’ve never been in the ring so much. But I think just fighting the 12 rounds with Orlando Salido I got to experience more than if I would be fighting just regular level guys for two years,” Lomachenko stated.

“I’m not looking at it like a ladder, like I’m stepping up or stepping down. I just have another chance to fight for the title, and you know this is my dream and desire is to get one and I have a chance and I’m going to take it.

“After the Salido fight I didn’t know who it was going to be, Gary Russell or somebody else. I didn’t care, I just said make me the fight for the title,” said Lomachenko.

This Saturday night’s card also sees the return of Robert Guerrero who headlines against Yoshihiro Kamegai, with the tricky Devon Alexander back in action against Jesus Soto Karass.

Earlier that evening on BoxNation Martin Murray challenges for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title when he takes on Max Bursak in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Russell Jr. vs Lomachenko is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

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