After losing his WBC featherweight title on Saturday, Gary Russell Jr. said opponent Mark Magsayo won the majority decision because of “politics.”
Magsayo upset Russell, a Washington native, 114-114, 115-113, 115-113 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to claim the WBC featherweight title that Russell held for almost seven years.
“I beat that boy at least 10 rounds to two [or] 9-3,” Russell said in a social media video Saturday night. “They been trying to get [me] out the way, I guess.”
Gary Russell Jr reacts to his defeat to Mark Magsayo: “I beat that boy at least 10-2 or 9-3.”
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 23, 2022
[📽️ @MrGaryRussellJr] pic.twitter.com/f760ha5uSp
Russell, 33, is now 31-2 in his career, but the defeat Saturday ended his reign as the longest-tenured active male boxing champion at six years, 10 months. He first held the title after a technical knockout of Johnny Gonzalez on March 28, 2015, but Saturday’s fight was only his sixth since then.
Immediately following the fight, Russell said he thinks he suffered a torn tendon in his right shoulder two weeks ago. He was reluctant to throw punches with his right arm and landed only 69 punches to Magsayo’s 150.
Gary Russell Jr. is fighting with one hand and showing a ton of heart ♥️
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) January 23, 2022
(via @ShowtimeBoxing)
pic.twitter.com/bpAS3J66AN
“We put the work in and still fought,” Russell said in his video. “To be honest with you, I outclassed him, outschooled him, outboxed him with one [expletive] arm.”
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.