5/19 SHO: Superman-Jack (WBC Light-Heavyweight Title) / Russell-Diaz (WBC Featherweight Title)

[patscorpio]

Main Event

Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs) owns one of the most powerful left hands in boxing and goes by the ring moniker "Superman''. The 40-year-old Stevenson has made eight successful defenses of his title since winning it with a knockout victory over Chad Dawson in 2013. The lineal 175-pound champion most recently defended his title with a second-round stoppage of Andrzej Fonfara last June and delivered a third round TKO over Tommy Karpency in his most recent defense in Toronto in 2015.

"I'm definitely excited and hungry to get into the ring and perform," said Stevenson. "I've trained very hard for this fight against Badou Jack. I'm looking forward to winning this fight by knockout. I'm from the Kronk Gym and we always look for the knockout. Jack is a good, technical boxer. He was a world champion and he has done very well. He's tough and I won't underestimate him. I'll be prepared for anything he brings in the ring.

"I'm fighting him at home in Canada, so I'm looking to give the fans a good show. I've got power and I've got the best left hook in boxing. I've got 12 rounds and I just need to touch you once to end it. It's not complicated. I don't need three or four shots. I just need one shot and you're not going to recover. I'm going to finish you."

The 34-year-old Jack (21-1-3, 13 KOs) relinquished his 168-pound world championship following a majority draw against James DeGale in 2017 to move up to light heavyweight. He made a successful debut at 175 pounds by knocking out Nathan Cleverly for the light heavyweight championship last August. Jack then relinquished that title to seek out this challenge against the division's heaviest hitter. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, a 2008 Olympian for his father's native Gambia and now residing in Las Vegas, Jack is looking to become a three-time world champion on his opponent's home turf on May 19.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to fight for my third world title against one of the division's best, Adonis Stevenson," said Jack. "I've been asking for this fight for a long time and was willing to fight him anywhere, including his backyard. I know he's good and very dangerous and that's the reason I want to fight him. I'm all about the best fighting the best and come May 19th, I'm bringing the WBC belt back to Las Vegas. My newborn son, Malik was born just before training camp so now I have two children to fight for, which gives me all the motivation I need to get this win."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co Main Event

Featherweight world titleholder Gary Russell Jr. and mandatory challenger Joseph "JoJo" Diaz Jr. finally have a done deal and a site for their fight: May 19 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, a Washington suburb.

The fight, which was announced Friday, was made without the need for a purse bid and is a rare bout negotiated between adversaries Al Haymon, Russell's adviser, and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Diaz.

The fight will air live on Showtime as part of a split-site doubleheader that will also include the previously announced bout between light heavyweight world champion Adonis Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs), making his ninth title defense, and former titlist Badou Jack (21-1-3, 13 KOs). They will meet at the Bell Centre in Stevenson's hometown of Montreal.

Russell-Diaz takes the place of a Keith Thurman welterweight fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. That bout was originally scheduled for one-half of the split-site telecast before Thurman gave up the date because of a hand injury.

"The featherweight division is one of the most talent laden in boxing and Gary Russell Jr. is at the head of a class of terrific boxers at 126 pounds,'' said Tom Brown of TGB Promotions, which is promoting the fight. "Joseph Diaz Jr. is young, hungry and undefeated and he's coming for the title and he's going to have to beat Russell in front of his hometown crowd to take it."

Russell (28-1, 17 KOs), 29, who is from Capitol Heights, Maryland, will have the hometown advantage for his third title defense, but he has been chronically inactive. He won the 126-pound belt from Jhonny Gonzalez in March 2015 but has fought only twice since, easy knockouts of Patrick Hyland in 2016 and then-interim titlist Oscar Escandon last May, a fight that was also at the MGM National Harbor.

Russell, a 2008 Olympian, is confident that he'll handle 2012 Olympian Diaz.

"I don't see this being a long night," Russell said. "If he gets reckless, it might end early. I don't plan on going the distance with anyone I step in the ring with. I know he's in for a rude awakening. I don't feel as though he has the punching power, the hand speed or the ring IQ to do anything to me. At the end of the day he'll have the opportunity to say he got in the ring with Mr. Gary Russell Jr."

Diaz (26-0, 14 KOs), 25, of South El Monte, California, earned the mandatory fight with a one-sided decision win against Rafael Rivera on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin undercard in September and has been calling out Russell.

"I'm happy to be fighting for my first world title against the best 126-pound world champion," Diaz said. "I'll prove to everyone that I belong on that featherweight throne come May 19. I will be the bigger man come fight night, and I will break him down physically and mentally. He just better give me the credit I deserve once I beat him, and not blame his inactivity for being a factor in his loss."

 

[patscorpio]

Photos: Gary Russell in Top Form, Grinds Hard For Joseph Diaz

Featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr. and undefeated mandatory challenger Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. met members of the media on opposite coasts on Thursday, just one week out of their WBC world title showdown on Saturday, May 19, from MGM National Harbor in Maryland. (photos by Kent Green).

Russell will defend his WBC title against Diaz in a split-site SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast (10:05 p.m. ET/PT) and will feature WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion Adonis Stevenson defending his title against two-division world champion Badou Jack in a 12-round main event presented by Premier Boxing Champions from Toronto.

Russell was joined by his younger brothers, Gary Antuanne Russell and Gary Antonio Russell at The Enigma Boxing Gym in Capitol Heights, Md., while Diaz took part in a workout at Azteca Gym in the City of Bell, just east of downtown Los Angeles.

Tickets for the MGM National Harbor show, which is promoted by TGB Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions, are on sale now and are available by visiting http://mgmnationalharbor.com/.

GARY RUSSELL JR.

“Sometimes you tend to magnify an event because of the fact that it’s in your hometown and it’s on a major card. It tends to take away from the true goal and the true purpose. I just need to focus on what the objective is. We never magnify the events. I think it’s cool that the neighbors and the mail lady and the people who honk their horns as they see me jogging down the street have the ability to get in their car and drive 15 minutes down the road to be a part of everything that’s going on and get to see a product of their environment.

“I draw my energy from my family, my friends, the true fans of Gary Russell Jr. That’s what I ultimately do it for. Regardless of what our profession is, we try to have a sense of financial stability for our families and that’s my objective as well. That’s what keeps me motivated.

“Diaz already made the statement that I am the best fighter in the featherweight division. He already made the statement that none of the other world champions are willing to step into the ring to compete against me. The managers and the promoters aren’t willing to put their fighters in the ring against me.

“I welcome the fact that Diaz wants the fight. As a world champion, I wouldn’t want or expect anything less. I want a competitor that’s ready to fight and that’s going to bring their best. I believe that he’s going to be the best that he can possibly be. My objective is to prepare myself to the best of my ability. I never really focus too much on my opponents. If Gary Russell Jr. is the best that he can be on fight night, then we’re good.

“I know that Diaz is young, he’s hungry. He’s the number one contender. He has eight weeks to prepare for nobody else but me. That’s always a recipe for somebody who’s really going to be ready and hungry. I think he knows that he’s getting in the ring with one of the best fighters in the world so he’s going to be ready.

“I love what I do. Even when I’m done with the sport of boxing, I’ll still be in the gym training and looking to spar. I’ve been competing since I was seven years old. I’ll be 30, it’s a lot of time that I’ve spent grinding. I just want to be able to spend time with my family and my friends and help give back to this younger generation.

“I take my hat off to him for getting in the ring and making this fight happen. You have to appreciate that as a fellow warrior and as a fellow gladiator, I respect it.

“I have the strength, the speed, the power, ring generalship, boxing IQ – all of that will come together on the 19th.

“I definitely see my hand speed being effective but it’s more than that. That’s just a physical attribute. What happens when you see two fighters who have an equal amount of hand speed and an equal amount of power? It’s the mindset.

“It’s always cool to compete with my younger brothers and share the field of battle with them. But I try not to magnify the event. The true focus is being victorious on the 19th.

“It’s always important to see my brothers develop, even if it wasn’t on my card. We have a concept of a dynasty. My definition of that is information being passed down from generation to generation. I feel as though when my younger brothers get to the age I am, I expect them to be better than what I am now. The sky is the limit and I want them to keep developing not just as fighters but as men.

“We put the city on the map. We’re bringing boxing back to the DMV area. Gervonta Davis is a fighter that I’ve watched come up through the amateurs and now he’s a world champion. Jarrett Hurd is another one that I’ve watched come up in the amateurs. He used to watch me train getting ready for the Olympics and now he’s a world champion as well. It goes to show that if you keep pushing, you stay hungry, diligent and you don’t cut corners, the sky is the limit.”

 

[reservoirdogs]

Jack vs Stevenson is a pick 'em

Stevenson can catch him (or anyone really) cold early but I siding with my man Jack to get through those early rounds cautiously and then methodically break down Stenveson with body shots finally stop him late

Haven't decided yet who I pick in the other fight, it's also close, although GRJ seems like the favorite. Diaz is smart, more active, goes to the body, GRJ still has handspeed but activity can hurt him at a point...
Either way I'm definitely rooting for Jojo Diaz, champions who fight more often are better for the sport. Imagine that this could be the night where the two most notoriously (voluntarily) inactive champions both get their belts taken away...
...or both of them stay...


I'm #teamactivity

 

[ChocolateGiddyUp]

slumps Jack

 

[LauderdaleBoss]

Jack and Turbo fists getting they ass kicked this weekend

 

[patscorpio]

Jack and Turbo fists getting they ass kicked this weekend

 

[FreedMind]

Hella excited for this. Going to be really pulling for Jack to win, but I'm really interested in seeing what kind of shape Stevenson is in.

Wait so what's the deal with GRJ career? Is there any explanation for his inactivity/ inconspicuous career? Dude is already talking about retirement right?

 

[reservoirdogs]

Hella excited for this. Going to be really pulling for Jack to win, but I'm really interested in seeing what kind of shape Stevenson is in.

Wait so what's the deal with GRJ career? Is there any explanation for his inactivity/ inconspicuous career? Dude is already talking about retirement right?

the explanation is that he is fine with inactivity, he is good w fighting once a year. No promoter issues, no injuries. He's just like Stevenson in that regard, except that he's doing this at the age of 29 and didn't even just start it now while Stevenson at least started to do this around 37-38...

 

[aceboon]

rooting for Jack and I'd be fine with GRJ losing, I would rather see beltholders who actually want to fight more than once a year.

 

[HeruDat1]

Jack in a close vicious dawg fight.

GRJ on points in a thriller.

 

[patscorpio]

the explanation is that he is fine with inactivity, he is good w fighting once a year. No promoter issues, no injuries. He's just like Stevenson in that regard, except that he's doing this at the age of 29 and didn't even just start it now while Stevenson at least started to do this around 37-38...

superman also turned pro very late..it wasnt like he started in his early 20s like gary did...he was almost 30 when he debuted

 

[kej718]

Stevenson got a long ass reach.and Jack h as been stopped before so I'm leaning there, but he is too inactive so that might catch up with him. Jack looks a lot strong at 175 though. If I had to gbet it would be on Stevenson, cause even in close fights judges usually go the other way when it is one of Mayweathers fighters.

 

[aceboon]

Stevenson got a long ass reach.and Jack h as been stopped before so I'm leaning there, but he is too inactive so that might catch up with him. Jack looks a lot strong at 175 though. If I had to gbet it would be on Stevenson, cause even in close fights judges usually go the other way when it is one of Mayweathers fighters.

Jack got two bullshyt draws against him so the biased or influenced judges argument doesn't really fly with him.

 

[patscorpio]

Jack got two bullshyt draws against him so the biased or influenced judges argument doesn't really fly with him.

Degale draw was BS...the periban one I thought was legit

 

[Conscious Pilot]

Stevenson is 40, pretty inactive while Pimping all over the world but that power and we’ve seen Badou get dropped . I’m leaning towards a Jack decision but wouldn’t be surprised seeing Stevenson stopping him by the 8th.

Excited to see GRJ and expect to take care of Diaz.