How good is Gary Russell Jr.?

[amat]

As for my take on Russell, obviously he's not as good as Warren who really imo is a complete freak. Warren is a pretty good bet for at least a medal and probably gold if things fall into place.

For Russell the road is a lot harder simply because of the division.

The Russian Sergei Vodpyanov is the gold medal favorite and for good reason, he won Gold at the World Championships in Chicago last year and really took it to Russell, beating him by 10 points. He is a tall southpaw, has faster feet and overall better footwork then Russell and everyone else in the division, and his arms are so long that it's hard to miss any shots he lands which gives him an advantage in international competition.

A very tough division also features McJoe Arroyo who Macho can tell you more about then me, Yankiel Leon from Cuba who I haven't seen fight but he was the last guy to beat Gamboa, a lot is expected of him and he has a lot of hype going into these games.

Not to mention their is a Thai fighter who is ranked 2 in the division and Uugan from Mongolia who gave Sergei a very tough fight in the Gold medal match for a few rounds and even knocked him down.

So while I was initially high on his medal chances, more I watched the more I realize it's an uphill battle.

[amat]

As for Russell's prospects as a pro.

Um, obviously he has the things you would look for as a pro. He does have power, speed and he seems to like to mix it up. But like a lot of top amateurs he has some terrible habits that will need changing as soon as he steps up. First is that fairly ridiculous habit of keeping his right hand all the way at his hip and using the left as the lead hand. It's a good left hand, but obviously he needs to pick that right up and try to develop a jab. He does have a jab he just doesn't use it. Vodpyanov was able to exploit this as he negated Russel's southpaw advantage and was able to find the mark with his right hand.

So obviously, he needs to change things up but once the head gear comes off I imagine the right will come up.

[Taeth]

I could see Warren getting away with that right hand by his hip because he is so fast, and sharp, but I am not sure about Gary, he isn't quite as fast from what I see. Thank you very much for responding, do you know if Warren is going pro?

[amat]

I'm sure he will go pro, this is already his second Olympics and obviously he is going to attract all kinds of interest but right now the team is in seclusion in Colorado Springs the only real news has been from the Luis Yanez controversy.

[Taeth]

One more thing, its hard to gauge Russel's speed from those videos. So how does it truly compare to Warren's? In what ways is Warren better than Russel, and is there any way in which Gary is better than Rau'Shee? The fight I gauged Gary's speed by, the only clearly footage ended up, him being 15 so thats not fair in comparison to Warren.

[sfboxingfan]

Those first two videos aren't of Gary Russell Jr- they're of his little brother, also named Gary Russell but known as "Alan" by his middle name.

The third video is of Gary Russell Jr. Not sure who is in the last video.

[amat]

Those first two videos aren't of Gary Russell Jr- they're of his little brother, also named Gary Russell but known as "Alan" by his middle name.

The third video is of Gary Russell Jr. Not sure who is in the last video.

I didn't watch the first two videos. But unless they fight literally exactly the same, the last two are Gary Russell for sure.