Fighting Words: Gary Russell Jr. Looking To Take Down Terence Crawford

It appears that Gary Russell Jr. is tired of waiting for WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford to answer his challenges.

Russell (31-1), the WBC Featherweight Champion, has been campaigning for a match with Crawford for the longest time. The two have had a war of words with one another dating back to when Crawford was 18. Recently, Russell has been upset at the fact that Crawford has been rumored to face off against Kell Brook and Manny Pacquiao. He spoke with Fight Hub about feeling left out of the conversation.

“Damn Terence. What’s up, slim? At one point you was on your lil’ social media, you know what I’m saying, responding to what was said about me — me punching you in the face and all that,” Russell stated, via Bad Left Hook. “But now, when I’m actually talking about actually trying to fight you, I don’t see no response nowhere. You turned Casper the Mothaf****n’ Friendly Ghost.

“Like what’s up, slim. You ain’t answering the call for nobody, man. I knew you was a b***h, man. I knew you was a b***h. And I wasn’t even gonna put this out here, you know what I’m saying, based upon the fact that I honestly ain’t watch your whole interview, or whatever it was when you did respond. But I actually watched it — you said you was gonna break my neck, you wanted to break my neck. Slim, stop f****n’ faking, man. You’s a cold sucker.”

Russell is currently on a six-fight win streak dating back to 2014. After losing to Vasiliy Lomachenko for the WBO Featherweight Title, he would beat Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBC title. “Mr” Russell would defend it five times, his last fight a unanimous decision win over Tugstsogt Nyambayar back in February.

This is not the first fighter who Russell has caught the attention of. Jessie Magdaleno has called him out before, stating he can easily beat Russell.

Crawford (36-0) won his last bout in December over Egidijus Kavaliauskas via TKO. It was the third time defending the WBO belt he won from Jeff Horn back in 2018. A former WBO, WBC, WBA, and IBF  Light-Welterweight Champion, Crawford has dismissed Russell ever since the two engaged in a mini sparring session where Russell appeared to not look fresh.

While Crawford has also been teasing matchups with Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter, and even Jose Ramirez, he has stated he would not take a pay cut for a fight. This is due to the lack of revenue in boxing right now. If a fight with him and Crawford were to happen, however, Russell has an interesting take on how it would go.

“I shouldn’t get past the fifth round,” said Russell, via Boxing News 24. “I shouldn’t go five with you. If you take the fight, I’m going to the bank, and I’m betting on myself because I’m going to f*** you up. You’re a sucker, man. I just wanted to let the fans know what it was.”