Former world champions Gary Russell Jr. and Mark Magsayo are set to make their return to the ring on the preliminary portion of the Premier Boxing Champions card scheduled for July 19, featuring Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios. This event will mark Russell Jr.`s first fight in over three years. Notably, Mark Magsayo was the fighter who defeated Russell Jr. in his last outing back in 2022. David Picasso is also scheduled to compete on this undercard.
Now at 37 years old, Gary Russell Jr. was never the most active boxer, even during his time as a champion. His loss to Magsayo in January 2022 was a closely contested majority decision, resulting in the forfeiture of his WBC featherweight title. Russell Jr. later revealed he had suffered an arm injury during that fight, which significantly impacted his performance.
Russell Jr.`s opponent on July 19 will be Hugo Castaneda, a 23-year-old Mexican boxer based in Texas. Castaneda`s recent record shows he was stopped in the fourth round by a prospect in his last bout. Despite this, Castaneda possesses respectable power, having secured 11 knockouts in his 15 wins. Given Russell Jr.`s extensive layoff, this fight is anticipated to be a relatively straightforward comeback bout for the experienced former champion.
Meanwhile, Mark Magsayo is slated to face Jorge Mata Cuellar, who is currently enjoying a five-fight winning streak. Following his career-highlight victory over Gary Russell Jr., Magsayo`s trajectory saw setbacks with consecutive losses to Rey Vargas and Brandon Figueroa.
Finally, David Picasso is scheduled to fight a Japanese opponent, although it`s not the high-profile matchup against Naoya Inoue that had been speculated. Picasso will be competing against Kyonosuke Kameda. Kameda`s most recent appearance in the ring resulted in a stoppage loss to Luis Nery in February of this year.
