Jose Valenzuela is confident of victory ahead of his title defense against Gary Antuanne Russell at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on March 1. The super lightweight bout serves as the co-feature on the PPV card, topped by Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr.
25-year-old Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) puts his WBA 140-pound title on the line, making the first defense of his belt. The southpaw from Los Mochis, Sinaloa claimed the strap against fellow Mexican Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz by split decision last August.
Valenzuela is opposed by former interim title challenger Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) of Capitol Heights, MD. The 28-year-old southpaw is coming off a split decision loss against current WBC titleholder Alberto Puello last June.
“I don’t believe Gary Antuanne Russell belongs here with me,” Jose Valenzuela said. “He’s a strong, solid, durable fighter. He’s good, but I think he’s a little stiff when I look at him more. I worked my a** off to get here, and this is a bit of a handout for him. I took two tough losses and came back from hell to get the ‘Pitbull’ Cruz fight and conquer that. Russell has had everything given to him, and I think it’s gonna show on March 1.”
“My mentality going into the ‘Pitbull’ fight was that I was gonna show that I’m a more diverse fighter than I got credit for, not just a knockout puncher. I have a full arsenal. I showed my poise in the ring and demonstrated my ring generalship. There were a lot of little things I did that had a major effect on the fight.”
“Having Robert Garcia in my corner gives me a lot of confidence. He’s really fixed my fundamentals. Everything comes together nicely when we work together. This training camp is going great. I’ve been conquering every day with hard work. I’m taking it all in and learning each day. It’s just about learning the techniques and working hard.”
“Fans can expect an action-packed fight. Stylistically, it’s a great matchup, with him being a lefty and coming with the high guard, marching forward. Gary is a lot taller than ‘Pitbull’. I knew I could dance around ‘Pitbull’, but with Gary, I think I’m gonna have to fight through him.”
“Taking on Gary Antuanne for my first title defense says a lot about me. People have to respect it. My name is on the radar because of the kind of opposition I’m going up against.”
“I think I’m at the top of this division with guys like Teofimo Lopez and Alberto Puello. I strongly believe I can beat all of these guys. It’s just a matter of taking it one fight at a time. Gary Antuanne Russell is in the way of where I’m trying to get to. I’ve got my full attention on him, and I give him his respect. But there’s more that I want to do. My story is gonna continue after this.”
In the main event, Baltimore’s three-weight champion Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) defends his WBA lightweight title against WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-1, 10 KOs) of Washington, D.C. Also on the card, Dominican Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KOs) defends his WBC super lightweight title against Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs) from Spain. Plus, Yoenis Tellez (9-0, 7 KOs) of Cuba and former unified champion Julian Williams (29-4-1, 17 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA, clash for the interim WBA super welterweight strap.