Gary Russell Jr. uncharacteristically overweight at weigh-in before defending his featherweight title against Mark Magsio next Saturday. On the first run, Russell hit 126.5 pounds, half a pound over the featherweight limit. The longtime WBC featherweight champion was given one hour to hit the limit, and Russell hit 125.5 pounds during his second.
His opponent, mandatory challenger Filipino Magsio (23-0, 16 KOs), weighed in at 125.5 pounds.
Numerous bookmakers list Russell as a 4-to-1 favorite to beat Magsayo, but the world's longest-serving boxing champion has struggled to prepare for this fight, and besides being slightly overweight.
Russell admitted during an interview on The DAZN Boxing Show this week that he has a minor injury that he cannot disclose. The Washington native also hasn't fought in nearly two years and admitted that he was essentially training alone to fight Magsio because his father and trainer, Gary Russell Sr., had a leg amputation last month due to complications from type 2 diabetes and didn't could attend his training camp.
