Gary Russell Jr. (31-1, 18 KOS) retained his WBC featherweight crown on Showtime by edging Tugstsogt Nyambayar across 12 hard-fought rounds at the PP Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In a classic boxer-versus-puncher battle, Russell survived several early punching volleys from Nyambayar (11-1, 9 KOs) to prevail. The Mongolian had Russell on the defensive for a time, but the champion’s superior boxing skills and ring generalship allowed him to dominate the second half of the fight. All three judges scored it for Russell: 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.
In the co-feature, Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-1, 13 KOs) eked out a split decision over Liborio Solis. “The Jackal” dropped Solis (30-6-1, 14 KOs) with a sharp combination in the seventh round, providing the difference in the fight. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Rigondeaux captured the vacant WBA bantamweight title with scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 112-115.
Brook, Galahad Net Decisive Victories
Former welterweight champion Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) shined on Dazn and ignited a sellout crowd at the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield, England, as he stopped Mark DeLuca in the seventh round. “Special K” sent DeLuca (24-2, 13 KOs) to the canvas in the third round, laid on the punishment and put him away with a crushing straight left at 1:15 of the frame.
In the co-feature, Kid Galahad (27-1, 16 KOs) dominated an overmatched Claudio Marrero (24-4, 17 KOs) and beat him so badly that his corner halted the fight between the eighth and ninth rounds. The win made Galahad the IBF’s No. 1 contender at featherweight.