Gary Russell Jr. Misses Weight But Then Makes It On The Second Attempt

This afternoon, Showtime Boxing held their weigh-in for the WBC Super Featherweight Championship that will be shown live on Showtime tomorrow night.

While the start time was a little later in the day than usual, Mark Magsayo was the first to step on the scale and came in at 125 1/2 lbs. On the other hand, the champion Gary Russell Jr. stepped on the scale and came in half a pound over the featherweight limit of 126 lbs. At this point, Russell Jr. had exactly one hour to lose half of a pound.

In his second attempt, which was within an hour, Gary Russell Jr. came in at 125 1/2 which means we have a fight tomorrow night!

Keith Idec from Boxing Scene is there in Atlantic City and was first to report Russell Jr. making weight.

I couldn’t help but notice that Gary Russell Jr. looked all around during the faceoff and just didn’t seem like his usual confident self. Could this be all part of the gamesmanship from Russell Jr. to distract the young Magsayo, or was he just simply embarrassed about not making weight the first time? Either way, this fight should be a good one.

Below is the release from Showtime with a summary of today’s weigh-in.

WBC Featherweight World Championship – 12 Rounds

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

Gary Russell Jr. – 125 ½ lbs.*

Mark Magsayo – 125 ½ lbs. 

Referee: Benjy Esteves; Judges: Lynne Carter (Penn.), Mark Consentino (N.J.), Henry Grant (N.J.)

*Note: Russell made the 126-pound weight limit on his second attempt.

Super Lightweight Bout – 12 Rounds

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

Subriel Matías – 140 ½ lbs.  

Petros Ananyan – 141 lbs.

Referee: Mary Glover; Judges: Debra Barnes (N.J.), Joseph Pasquale (N.J.), Paul Wallace (Md.)

*The fight contracted weight limit is 141 lbs.

Featherweight Bout – 10 Rounds

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

Tugstsogt Nyambayar – 128 lbs.  

Sakaria Lukas – 127 ½ lbs.

Referee: Edgardo Claudio; Judges: Tony Lundy (N.J.), Ronald McNair (N.Y.), Robin Taylor (N.Y.)

*The fight contracted weight limit is 128 lbs.

ABOUT RUSSELL VS. MAGSAYO

Russell vs. Magsayo will see WBC Featherweight World Champion Gary Russell Jr. defend his world title against top contender and WBC mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo headlining action live on SHOWTIME Saturday, January 22 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J.

The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® tripleheader begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and features a 12-round rematch between super lightweight contenders Subriel Matías and Petros Ananyan in the co-main event, plus hard-hitting featherweight Tugstsogt Nyambayar squaring-off against Sakaria Lukas in the 10-round telecast opener.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/sports, www.PremierBoxingChampions.com, follow on #RussellMagsayo, follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing and @TGBPromotions on Instagram @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing and @TGBPromotions or become a fan on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing.