Jose Valenzuela vs. Gary Antuanne Russell: Picks, Predictions and Odds

Gary Antuanne Russell fell short in his bid to become interim WBC super lightweight champion in his last bout, but has a chance to become the WBA king as he takes on title holder Jose Valenzuela on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach in Brooklyn on Saturday night.

Russell lost on points in a close split decision defeat to Alberto Puello, who has since been elevated to full champion.

Puello is also on the card and a rematch could be possible further down the line, but first, both men have to get through their respective assignments on Saturday.

Russell comes into the fight with a 17-1 record, with all of his victories coming inside the distance. Valenzuela is 14-2 and is defending his title for the first time.

Jose Valenzuela vs. Gary Antuanne Russell betting picks and predictions

Gary Antuanne Russell To Win (-130)

Russell, the younger brother of former featherweight world champion Gary Russell Jr, has developed a reputation as a knockout specialist after blowing his first 17 opponents away - only three managed to reach the sixth round - until he came up against Puello.

Despite losing to Puello, Russell proved he could mix it up with a technician, as he was unfortunate to end up on the wrong side of a split decision.

One judge had Puello winning by just one round, another saw a three-round difference in favor of the Dominican, but the judge who sided with Russell had him winning almost every round.

Such are the quirks of boxing, where two of the judges preferred Puello’s precision over Russell’s aggression, but he may enjoy a bit more success against Valenzuela.

The Mexican-American earned a split decision victory over another excellent pressure fighter in Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in his last bout.

However, Cruz has more experience at lightweight and in that matchup Valenzuela had clear height and reach advantages - whereas Russell is the same height with a similar reach.

This should be close, but Russell’s more aggressive style and power gives him the edge and he can get a win in New York.

Gary Antuanne Russell To Win By KO, TKO or Disqualification (+160)

While a close fight is expected, Russell has enough power to get the job done inside the distance, even if he does take a bit of punishment from the slick Valenzuela along the way.

Russell kicked off his professional career with three successive first-round wins. Those early stoppages tend to dry up as fighters move up in class, but the southpaw has been picking up wins in the first half of his fights over the course of his career,

The Maryland native had only been beyond the sixth round once before he was taken the full distance by Puello.

Russell claimed a first-round win over the previously unbeaten Kent Cruz in his final fight before challenging Puello, while prior to that he became the first man to stop the experienced Rances Barthelemy.

The 28-year-old’s best win, both in terms of the name and the manner of victory, came against Viktor Postol in 2022. Russell stopped Postol in the final round of their 10-round contest, becoming the first man to stop the Ukrainian.

That win shows he keeps his power deep into fights and at some point he should be able to engineer a chance to see off Valenzuela without needing the judges.  

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Jose Valenzuela vs. Gary Antuanne Russell odds

	Jose Valenzuela	Gary Antuanne Russell
Money Line	+100	-130
By KO, TKO, DQ	+550	+160
By Decision or Technical Decision	+188	+400

Jose Valenzuela vs. Gary Antuanne Russell: Fight date, ring walk time, how to watch, undercard on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.