Viktor Postol is a betting underdog entering his fight against Gary Antuanne Russell on Saturday night.
The hard-hitting Russell has knocked out all 14 of his pro opponents. The 25-year-old southpaw is also 13 years younger than Postol, a former WBC super lightweight champion who will end an almost 18-month layoff in a 10-round, 141-pound fight Showtime will televise from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT).
“I have experience and he’s young,” Postol told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “He’s probably gonna go forward. What he has is his age, basically that’s it.”
Though 38 years old, Postol is the highest-caliber opponent Russell has agreed to face in five years as a pro. Ukraine’s Postol (31-3, 12 KOs) has lost only 12-round decisions to unbeaten WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford, undefeated, undisputed junior welterweight champ Josh Taylor and former WBC/WBO 140-pound champ Jose Ramirez.
The best win on Russell’s resume is his stoppage of the Dominican Republic’s Jovanie Santiago (14-2-1, 10 KOs) in his most recent fight. Russell, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, beat Santiago by technical knockout when Santiago’s handlers halted their scheduled 10-rounder following the sixth round May 29 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I think [fighting me is] a good move for him because sooner or later, he has to go for big fights,” Postol said. “And an opponent like me is gonna be a good check for him.”
Postol jumped at the opportunity to face Russell in large part because he hasn’t boxed since Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) beat him by majority decision in their 12-round fight for Ramirez’s WBC and WBO 140-pound crowns in August 2020 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
“The reason for the big pause was the pandemic, COVID,” Postol said. “But I missed boxing a lot, with the big break, and I got hungry. I wanted to get back in the ring as soon as possible.”
Russell, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, is not ranked among the top 15 contenders in the 140-pound rankings of the IBF, WBA, WBC or WBO. Nevertheless, Postol expects a victory over an opponent with Russell’s pedigree to help him at least secure a championship elimination match in their division later this year.
“If I beat Russell,” Postol said, “I’m pretty sure my manager and my promoter will make another title fight for me, or at least an elimination fight.”
Showtime will televise Postol-Russell immediately after a 12-round, 115-pound championship bout in which the Philippines’ Jerwin Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs) will defend his IBF junior bantamweight title against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez (13-0, 8 KOs). In the main event, which will follow the Russell-Postol bout, Brooklyn’s Chris Colbert (16-0, 6 KOs) will meet Dominican southpaw Hector Garcia (14-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) in a 12-round, 130-pound WBA elimination match.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.