Russell Wins With Another First-Round KO!

Capitol Heights, MD featherweight "Mr." Gary Russell, Jr. remained undefeated with a first-round TKO over former world champion Mauricio Pastrana last night at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA.

Russell was in complete control of the contest, hammering Pastrana until referee Lou Moret stopped the contest at 1:46 of the round.

Russell is now 11-0, eight KO's. Pastrana falls to 35-15-2, 24 KO's.

Here's a nice recap by my Fightnews.com colleague Francisco Salazar:

Former Olympian and unbeaten featherweight Gary Russell is slowly convincing the boxing world that he could be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Based on his performance against a former world champion, that future might be sooner rather than later. Russell scored a first round stoppage over faded world champion Mauricio Pastrana in the first round of a scheduled six round bout at Club Nokia at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, CA. The bout headlined a five-bout “Fight Night Club” card, presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Russell, who fought for the United States in 2008 in Beijing, was coming off a second round knockout over Rodrigo Aranda last month at the same venue. However, Russell was facing Pastrana, who would pose on paper as a significant step up in class. Although Pastrana is not the fighter he once was, he is still a dangerous puncher. That was evident three and a half years ago against Antonio Escalante, whom he knocked out despite being down on the scorecards. Prior to the his fight against Russell, Pastrana had lost seven of his previous eight bouts.

From the opening bell, Russell utilized his speed, easily landing to Pastrana’s body and head. Pastrana attempted to time Russell coming in, hoping to land counter right hands to the head.

A right uppercut to the head hurt Pastrana, backing him up to a corner. Russell let his hands, landing blistering punches to the head of Pastrana, who began to slump down against the corner. Referee Dr. Lou Moret began to administer a standing-eight count as he felt that the ropes and/or corner were holding Pastrana up. After the count of eight, Moret decided to call the fight at 1:46 as he decided that Pastrana was too hurt to continue.

“I felt really good and strong in the ring,” said Russell, who has now won his last six bouts in a row by knockout or stoppage. “I was expecting tougher competition. I knew that he came with his “A” game. However, I knew I hurt him with the right hook. God has my back and since that is the case, the sky is the limit.”