Gary Russell Jr and Mark Magsayo will square off in the ring on Saturday night for the WBC featherweight championship live on Showtime championship boxing, but first the two main event fighters must make the 126-pound limit in order to fight for the belt.
The weigh-in’s will take place on Friday, January 21st the day before the fight and if a fighter fails to make weight they will suffer a financial penalty, if the champion doesn’t make weight they will be stripped of their title and only the challenger will be able to win the belt.
The 33-year-old Russell Jr. is the current WBC featherweight champion and he is coming off a two-year layoff and it could cause him to be rusty which would be at the advantage of the much younger 26-year-old Filipino challenger Magsayo.
This will be an interesting fight because both fighters have fast hands and power. The southpaw Russell is known for having the fastest hands in boxing and Magsayo who fights out of the orthodox stance believes he will have the power advantage.
The only loss of Russell’s career was a decision to Vasyl Lomachenko who is widely considered one of the best pound for pound. Since that loss Russell has been trying to land big fights with Leo Santa Cruz, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, and even called out welterweight king Terence Crawford to a fight.
Magsayo is confident heading into the championship bout because he has the legendary Freddie Roach in his corner and the support of Manny Pacquiao and the Filipino people.
The pressure is on for Magsayo since this is his first world title opportunity and he is going up against one of the best champions in the sport.
This is the first big boxing event of 2022 and with the two explosive styles with a southpaw versus an orthodox styles match it should be an action packed fight as long as it lasts.
The weigh-in live stream will be shown on Premier Boxing Champions official YouTube page on Friday, January 21, 2022 at 10:00 AM PT.
Gary Russell Jr vs. Mark Magsayo takes place on Saturday, January 22, 2022 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Live on Showtime Championship Boxing.
