Gary Russell finally stepping up??

[Silkeyjoe]

I believe Russell tried to step into Mares spot when he backed out of his rematch but the champ refused. So, at least he seems interested in tougher fights finally.

Maybe his handlers have decided his hands just aren't going to hold up so they might as well make a move now.

Jhonny declined because russell hadnt earned the right to face him.. regardless russell is a high risk low reward and the champ shouldnt have to put up with that.

Bullshit, thats exactly what champs should be doing. Taking high risk fights. Joke that champs can hand pick their opponents

[p4pking]

I care less and less about whether fighters have "earned" anything on paper these days, we just need to see good fights getting made more frequently. There are SO many great matchups that don't even get discussed because of either promotion, or this idea that you've got to go through a murderers row to fight someone with a belt, regardless of how they got it to begin with. Has Lomachenko earned a title shot? Of course not, but he looks good enough to beat Salido and if he does that's great for boxing, we might have a future great. Say Gonzales for whatever reason hadn't picked up a title last year. His fighting Gary Russell would be a terrific crossroads encounter and probably produce a very good fight.

Young, super talented guys should be getting rushed into the big picture, as there is very little new blood in boxing. It's all well and good if a fighter and his handlers want him to move slowly, but when that's not the case and we closet fans still insist on it, while chastising others for doing exactly that, it's pretty comical.