Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) is ready to put on an impressive performance in his first defense of his WBA light welterweight title against Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) in the 12-round chief support bout on the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach card this Saturday, on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Valenzeula-Russell should be the main event in this card because it’s a more evenly matched contest than the Davis-Roach headliner. That fight is viewed as a mismatch. Rayo has remade himself into a Lomachenko copy. The transformation that he’s done with his style is impressive, as he fights nothing like he used to. He’s become a perfect copy of Loma, but he’s got fight-stopping power that makes him dangerous.
‘The Mexican Loma,‘ Valenzuela is coming off a big win over Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on August 3rd last summer on Turki Alalshikh’s card in Los Angeles. Rayo made Cruz look bad in that fight, using his boxing skills to dominate the WBA champion. The judges gave Rayo a 12-round split decision win, but he looked like he’d schooled Pitbull.
Rayo has won his last two fights against Cruz and Chris Colbert to turn his career around. Before that, he’d lost two in a row to Colbert and Edwin De Los Santos.
Saturday’s event will be shown live on PBC on Prime Video PPV. The event begins at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. The price point is $79.95.
Rayo’s Arsenal
“I worked too hard to get here. I took two tough losses and came back, did my thing, and now I’m here,” said Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela to Fight Hub TV, talking about how he’s turned his career around, captured the WBA 140-lb belt and will defend it this Saturday night against Gary Antuanne Russell.
Rayo has the perfect combination of boxing skills and power to defeat Gary Antunne on Saturday. We saw in Russell’s 12 round split decision loss to Alberto Puello last year on June 15th that he struggles with boxers who can punch. That was the first time that Russell had fought someone with real talent that wasn’t at the journeyman level or washed up, and he fell apart.
“I’ve done nothing but dedicate my time since to become better, stronger, a real 140-lb fighter, and I’ll be ready on Saturday night. I’ve got more in my arsenal. I’ve got an IQ, good feet, and I can dance if I need to. The weight is coming off nicely. I feel strong, and this is the weight where I belong.
“When this fight was offered to me, I took it. I’m familiar with his brothers [the Russells]. I think they’re great fighters. I think he’s going to bring the best out of me. If I want to become great, I’ve got to get through fighters like Gary. We’re both in our prime. We’re both hot right now, we’re both young, and it’s going to be a firefight.
“It doesn’t really mean nothing to me. I’m a totally different fighter,” said Rayo, reacting to beibing told that Russell has a lot of knockouts. “You saw what happened with his last fight. [Alberto] Puello did a great job. I don’t think he was ever hurt once in the fight. So, I’ll be ready. I’ll be prepared,” said Valenzuela.
Last Updated on 02/26/2025