With ‘Chip On Shoulder,’ Gary Antuanne Russell Promises To ‘Dismantle’ Valenzuela

Gary Antuanne Russell says he’s going to “dismantle” and “outclass” Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela to take his WBA light welterweight title from him this Saturday, March 1st in their chief support bout at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two will fight on the $79.95 card on PBC on Prime Video PPV.

Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) admits that he has a “chip on his shoulder” after suffering his first career defeat against Alberto Puello last year on June 15th in a 12-round split decision. He says the judges gave it to Puello just because he had gone twelve rounds against him. Russell had come into the fight with a 17-fight knockout streak.

Loss and Denial

Boxing fans believe Russell is just making excuses, and can’t admit that he wasn’t good enough. He still refuses to confront the truth after stewing on his loss since then, which isn’t a good sign. Gary is in denial about what happened to him, and likely won’t have learned from the defeat. This is the classic losers mentality we see here from Russell.

One can tell that Russell is still trying to make sense of what happened to him in his loss to Puello. He won’t accept that he lost to the better man. Right now, Russell is his worst enemy coming into Saturday’s fight, and he is likely to make the same mistakes as last time.

Rayo (14-2, 9 KOs) has made it clear that he’s going to box Russell, and potshot him all night long. He’s going to make it hard for him to use his inside power game to land his shots in this fight.

“I’m not one of those who wither and become diluted after my first loss. I’m coming into this fight with a chip on my shoulder,” said Gary Antuanne Russell to Fight Hub TV, about him wanting to bounce back from his recent loss to Alberto Puello on June 15th last year. “I’m going into my bag with this fight and show you a little more fling.

“Nothing,” said Russell when asked what Rayo brings to the table for this fight. “If anybody makes something look competitive to me, it’s because I’m not going what to do. These dudes don’t bring nothing special. They’re not on my level.

“The coach is not fighting for you. It’s me and you,” said Russell when asked if Valenzuela’s new coach, Robert Garcia, will make a difference for him in this fight. “I want to dismantle him in every way. I’m not going to go in there looking for it [knockout], but I know it’s there.”