Maryland's Gary Russell Jr. Returns June 18; Cherry Bomb is Back

Gary Russell, Jr.

Unbeaten featherweight prospect Gary Russell, Jr. has recovered from a hairline fracture to his right middle knuckle sustained in the first round of his latest victory last month over Adolfo Landeros, a fight I covered ringside in San Francisco.

Originally slated to face Dat "Be Dat" Nguyen in May, his father and trainer Gary Sr. informed me that advisor Al Haymon has instead penciled his son in for a June 18 date in Hidalgo, Tex.

"The hand is fine," Russell Jr. said.  "As a pro, these are things you just go through, and I'm ready for the next step against whoever it is."

The 2008 Olympian from Capitol Heights, Maryland, now stands at 15-0 with 9 KOs and is pushing for a regional title by the end of the year. The oldest of six boys (all of whom box southpaw), Gary Jr.'s blinding handspeed has turned heads and made him a fan favorite so far in his early career.

I caught up with the rising 126-pounder at the family's new home base, Rev. Briscoe's Boxing Gym in nearby Forestville, where he's been sparring former junior welterweight world title challenger Edner Cherry. On a side note, the now 135-pound "Cherry Bomb" has decided to campaign a division below at 130 and is looking for an opponent after Mark Davis pulled out of a scheduled July bout in Florida.

Personally I think Cherry, who earned his nickname by becoming one of the all-action fighters in the sport, has the potential to be an Orlando Salido-type world champion, having endured some tough losses in circumstances that were not ideal.  His last two losses were against world-class Timothy Bradley and Paulie Malignaggi at a 140-pound limit that was just too heavy for him.

"I feel stronger at 130 [pounds]," Cherry said.  "You're right in that those were tough fights, but I'm back.  I just need some good fights to get back to where I was, and I've been down in Florida with Andre Berto's people to make that happen."

Cherry has not lost in three years now and has strung together four wins in a row.  It will be interesting to see if his handlers can steer him to championship gold at junior lightweight.  I would advise fight fans to not give up on the Bahamian native just yet.

Edner Cherry is on the comeback trail.

Now back to the Russells.  It's going to be a busy month for the family, as Gary Jr.'s little brothers Gary Allen (141 lbs.) and Antonio (123 lbs.) have advanced to the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships in Colorado Springs. The tournament's importance is immense; the top four fighters in each weight class will advance to the Olympic Trials in October.

Look out for my colleague Alec Kohut's write-up on Russell on MaxBoxing.com next week.