Gary Russell Jr. will end a three-year layoff on the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios undercard July 19 in Las Vegas.
Premier Boxing Champions announced Wednesday that Russell will square off against Hugo Castaneda in a 10-round lightweight fight that will headline Prime Video’s undercard coverage before that show shifts to pay-per-view. This will be the first fight for Russell (31-2, 18 KOs) since he controversially lost the WBC featherweight title to
Mark Magsayo in January 2022 at Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
A serious injury to his right shoulder mostly prevented Russell from fighting since he lost to Magsayo, who defeated him by majority decision. Russell’s injury worsened against Magsayo and essentially limiting the Capitol Heights, Maryland, native to using one arm for eight-plus rounds.
Before the 2008 Olympian decided to fight again, Russell concentrated on training his younger brothers, including WBA 140-pound champ
Gary Antuanne Russell.
“I’m ready to shake off the dust and entertain by doing what I love,” Russell said. “Make sure you tune in to see me do my thing.”
Russell, 37, has been limited to just six fights in the 10 years since he won the WBC featherweight title by stopping Mexico’s Jhonny Gonzalez in the fourth round in 2015 fight in Las Vegas.
The Mexican-born Castaneda (15-2-1, 11 KOs), of Alamo, Texas, was knocked out by Cuban prospect Demler Zamora (16-0, 11 KOs) in the fourth round of his last fight April 5.
The Philippines’ Magsayo (27-2, 18 KOs) will also return to the ring on the Prime Video portion of the
Pacquiao-Barrios undercard. He will meet Mexico’s Jorge Mata Cuellar (21-2-2, 13 KOs, 1 NC) in a 10-round junior lightweight fight.
Mexican junior featherweight contender David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) will also take on Japan’s Kyonosuke Kameda (15-4-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round bout between the Magsayo-Cuellar and Russell-Castaneda contests. Picasso is the WBC’s No. 1 contender for one of undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue’s titles.
PBC’s three-fight Pacquiao-Barrios undercard stream is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT). The pay-per-view portion of the show will begin at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT; $79.99).
The 46-year-old
Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) will end a near four-year layoff when the Filipino legend challenges San Antonio’s
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) for his WBC belt at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing