BoxRec

Who do you reckon the No. 1 Feather is at the moment?

Leo Santa Cruz is top of Boxrec (Frampton 2nd) but Gary Russell is a fantastic fighter although he's only fought THREE times in THREE+ years - why the inactivity?

The winner of Quigg v Valdez will have an argument for being at least 2nd in the division although you could say the same about Selby v Warrington.

Rounding out the top fighters is Abner Mares who seems to have been around for a hundred years. He's going up against LSC in June.

And we haven't even mentioned Kid Galahad

Most of them are fighting each other this year..

Quigg vs. Valdez..
Santa Cruz vs. Mares
Selby vs. Warrington

Heck even Framton vs. Donaire is a good fight.

Now the above are not unification.. But still top notch fights.

After these bouts.. We need Champions vs. Champions..

I still pick Santa Cruz as the best featherweight at the moment.

Right now, I actually think Gary Russell Jr beats all of them.

Russell-Santa Cruz would be close though.

East End wrote: ↑22 Feb 2018, 11:57 Right now, I actually think Gary Russell Jr beats all of them

Is he ever going to fight again

Its between Santa Cruz and Russell Jr with Frampton in third position. Santa Cruz takes top spot from me by virtue of beating Frampton recently.

Taansend wrote: ↑22 Feb 2018, 12:05

East End wrote: ↑22 Feb 2018, 11:57 Right now, I actually think Gary Russell Jr beats all of them

Is he ever going to fight again

It does seem as though he has been frozen out somewhat, with the other 'names' in the division pairing off for some good upcoming bouts. And this despite holding one of the major titles. Russell did say that he would move up if he couldn't get big fights at 126 and has made noises about wanting a rematch with Lomachenko. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing that purely because Loma is so damn good Russell is one of very few who has the skills to at least make a bit of a contest of it.

Gary Russell fights this coming weekend, as does Selby v Warrington.

Leo Santa Cruz v Abner Mares in a few weeks.

Frampton just proved he still has it by beating Donaire & Valdez came through a war with Quigg.

126 is a division crying out for unification.

They seem to be eyeing up Frampton vs Selby/Warrington. I believe Frampton won the WBO Interim title against Donaire which basically makes him mandatory when Valdez is ready to fight. I wonder, if the fight between Frampton and the IBF champ happened, if the winner would keep both belts and therefore be in line to fight Valdez in a unification? It'd be an ideal scenario, but I'm not sure the sanctioning bodies would allow it.

JoJo Diaz is the best fight on paper that Russell will have had since Lomachenko 4 (FOUR!) years ago. He really needs to start calling these guys out and getting in the mix. Unfortunately it seems as though he's happy to fight once a year, pick up his money and then sit back and relax. Surely there'll come a time for him when he thinks "why didn't I do more when I was in my prime?" The guy is clearly talented but between the ages of 25 and 29 will have had about 5 fights.

gary russell is purely a take it easy money fighter it seems, hes content to make his high 6 figure purse for the year then relax and enjoy himself, dont think he gives a f@ck about legacy

Do we know this for sure? He is a great fighter but surely he wants to fight more than once a year. Has he had promotional issues?

hes talked about how its just a business and how the fighters deserve big money and thats all the games about. just doesnt seem like a guy who has much drive once hes gotten paid. he just seems to want to do the bare minimum to keep his belt

A lot of Haymon fighters are happy with well-paid inactivity, IMO. Russell is one of them (didn't he fly off the handle when an interviewer basically asked him "Why do you let Haymon keep you on the sidelines" or something?).

Why does Gary Russell get so much respect on here?

He fights a crap opponent once a year. He's a disgrace.

Horse wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 09:57 Why does Gary Russell get so much respect on here?

He fights a crap opponent once a year. He's a disgrace.

He's a very good boxer 'orse. You're right about him not fighting enough but he's got the skills.

Taansend wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 10:43He's a very good boxer 'orse. You're right about him not fighting enough but he's got the skills.

How do we know that he truly has world class skills if he's only fighting opposition like Patrick fecking Hyland?

If he's so good then why isn't he fighting the best?

Good chance that he gets beaten fairly easily next time he fights a top fighter in my opinion.

Horse wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 10:48

Taansend wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 10:43He's a very good boxer 'orse. You're right about him not fighting enough but he's got the skills.

How do we know that he truly has world class skills if he's only fighting opposition like Patrick fecking Hyland?

If he's so good then why isn't he fighting the best?

Good chance that he gets beaten fairly easily next time he fights a top fighter in my opinion.

That's the million dollar question. If you watch him you'll see he's good. We just need to see him fight more often and against better opposition.