Gary Antuanne Russell vs Alberto Puello Preview June 15th, 2024
There’s a battle of unbeaten junior welterweights this Saturday, June 15th and the vacant Interim WBC Title is on the line when southpaw Gary Antuanne Russell of Capitol Heights, Maryland takes on Alberto Puello of the Dominican Republic. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas, Nevada, can be seen live on Amazon Prime pay-per-view. Russell last fought in August when he stopped Kent Cruz in 159 seconds while Puello was last in action in December when he beat Ector Madera via an eight-round unanimous decision.
Russell vs Puello Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Alberto Puello +425
- Gary Antuanne Russell -650
My Pick
Russell will turn 28 years old a day before the fight and is one of the fighting Russell brothers who are all named Gary. He owns a perfect record of 17-0 with all 17 wins coming by way of stoppage for a 100 per cent knockout mark and that power means he has just 46 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career as he boxed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and lost in the quarterfinals in the light welterweight division.
Russell stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a wingspan of 69 inches. He’s gone past the sixth round just once as a pro and that was against Viktor Postol in February, 2022 when he stopped him in the 10th round. He also has eight first-round knockouts, three in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and two in the sixth. He took a step up in class against former world champions Postol and Rances Barthelemy and passes those tests impressively. He’s also beaten the likes of Wilmer Rodriguez, Marcos Mojica, Luis Leal, Juan Huertas and Jovanie Santiago.
The 29-year-old Puello fights out of Las Vegas, and made his pro debut in 2015 following an amateur career which saw him fight at the 2014 PanAmerican Sports Festival. He’s boxed 152 rounds as a pro and makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 22-0 with 10 Ko’s. Puello measures 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a 71-inch reach for a two-inch reach advantage on Russell but gives up an inch in height. As far as power goes, he’s a little below average as 45.5 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage and has gone the distance in his last four fights.
Puello has won the vacant WBA Fedelatin and WBC Latino Super Lightweight Titles as a pro as well as the WBA Interim Belt in 2019 when he beat Jonathan Alonso by unanimous decision. He defended the title against Cristian Coria and Jesus Antonio Rubio but was stripped of the belt when the WBA got rid of its interim titles. He then faced Batyr Akhmedov for the vacant WBA Super Lightweight Championship in August 20, 2022 and won by a split decision in a slugfest. Things turned sour shortly after that however when Puello tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and was given a six-month suspension in June, 2023.
Prediction…
Russell possesses power as well as fine boxing skills and even though he’s stopped all 17 opponents he doesn’t need to rely on a knockout to win. Puello is also a fine boxer with a good chin but with average power. I’m expecting a close fight here but believe Russell will win his 18th straight fight even though his knockout streak may end at 17.
Russell has better power and skills.
Play Russell -650 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Alberto Puello betting • Gary Antuanne Russell betting