chuck9788 wrote: ↑13 May 2018, 21:36
I see Russell doing better outside work and using his veteran advantages to get the decision. I feel Diaz is still green and not yet ready for this big step up in class. I'm not exactly sold if Diaz will ever get much better. Hopefully, he proves me wrong and brings it.
Sounds a little like what so many were saying about Munguia before last night.
Russell is a world class operator. He is elite. Diaz may be as well but it remains to be seen. I'll go Russell 7-5, maybe 8-4 because of the speed edge.
diddy wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 01:29Russell is a world class operator. He is elite. Diaz may be as well but it remains to be seen. I'll go Russell 7-5, maybe 8-4 because of the speed edge.
diddy wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 01:29Russell is a world class operator. He is elite. Diaz may be as well but it remains to be seen. I'll go Russell 7-5, maybe 8-4 because of the speed edge.
Shame he don't fight much..
The fact that he's so inactive makes you wonder how much love Russell really has for the sport.
Does Russell lack the desire and hunger necessary to turn back the challenge of a. motivated young gun like Diaz?
Surprised at the poll. I think this one is 50-50. I have Diaz by UD. Odds are too good to miss. Diaz looks good, and he's beaten the better overall competition. Of course, GRJ has the best overall win, but the rest of his victories are garbage. Diaz has more depth on his resume.
Mexi-Box wrote: ↑16 May 2018, 00:02
Surprised at the poll. I think this one is 50-50. I have Diaz by UD. Odds are too good to miss. Diaz looks good, and he's beaten the better overall competition. Of course, GRJ has the best overall win, but the rest of his victories are garbage. Diaz has more depth on his resume.
Surprisingly, Russell is a rather heavy 1-4 favorite.
Diaz is probably a little underrated. I think Russell is the better pure talent--he has quite a speed edge vs. Diaz--but his limited ring work (9 rounds in 3 years) may come back to bite him.
Russell stays in shape even out of competition, so I don't see the ring rust as being that big of a factor.
GR's speed and counters will be the difference in this fight.
UD across the cards.
LabCabinCA wrote: ↑17 May 2018, 19:25
Russell stays in shape even out of competition, so I don't see the ring rust as being that big of a factor.
GR's speed and counters will be the difference in this fight.
UD across the cards.
I hope you're correct. I've always been a fan of Gary Russell. A terrific talent.
But since winning the belt 3 years ago, he's fought just 2 lower tier contenders.
He's a guy who has really wasted his talent. He has enough skill to be a star.
LabCabinCA wrote: ↑17 May 2018, 19:25
Russell stays in shape even out of competition, so I don't see the ring rust as being that big of a factor.
GR's speed and counters will be the difference in this fight.
UD across the cards.
I hope you're correct. I've always been a fan of Gary Russell. A terrific talent.
But since winning the belt 3 years ago, he's fought just 2 lower tier contenders.
He's a guy who has really wasted his talent. He has enough skill to be a star.
I hope he's right too, but gym shape is sometimes not enough to compensate against a guy like Diaz who is in competition shape with convincing wins over quality opposition in his last 4 bouts.
I've got this a 50-50 matchup and one thing that could tip the balance in GR's favor is having the crowd behind him on home turf for the DC-based Russell.
SenorPipino wrote: ↑17 May 2018, 23:19
Right, Russell does own the home ring advantage. Probably helps account somewhat for the heavy odds in his favor.
It very well could be a close fight, and that would figure to be to the advantage if the home-towner Russell.
A controversial outcome may very well be on tap.
Wouldnt surprise me a bit. Diaz IS a Golden Boy fighter and even though GBP is not the promoter of record for the Russell fight, there is always the chance that the GBP tentacles could stretch all the way from LA to DC to affect the decision. Hopefully not...may the best man win.
SenorPipino wrote: ↑20 May 2018, 16:22
Interesting to see how inaccurate Russell was and how accurate Diaz was.
Also how busy Russell was compared to Diaz.
I'm usually not someone who cares about the number of punches thrown. It's clean, effective punches landed that should count.
But the number is staggering with Russell throwing more than 500 more punches than Diaz.
Incredibly lopsided. Sometimes Russell threw more than 60 or 70 more punches per round than Diaz.
There's no excuse for a fighter of Diaz' talent to be so economical with his shots.
He should realize that the judges are often swayed by punch output, even though the punches landed were practically even.
Russell threw a hell of a lot jabs. I don't think he threw them so that they would land but more to keep Diaz from coming on to him. Russell didn't look tired in there. He didn't perform that well either. He just 'did more' than Diaz.
Diaz was throwing the more effective shots during the times when he did throw, though. Too bad he wasn't active enough. I have to wonder if he needs to change trainers too. Crazy how he wasn't jabbing his way in and just walking down GRJ. It worked for a while, but GRJ adjusted and Diaz just couldn't do anything else.
GRJ stopped trying to be KO artist and more boxer. He won those rounds where he forewent going toe-to-toe with Diaz.
