Gary Antuanne Russell TKOs Viktor Postol In Final Round

Gary Antuanne Russell almost went the distance for the first time in his career.

But that didn’t happen. Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) picked up a 10th round stoppage over former world champion Viktor Postol (31-3, 12 KOs) in the final minute of their junior welterweight fight Saturday night.

Russell – the younger brother of former WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr – pressured Postol throughout the first round. But Postol was able to establish distance between them.

Postol and Russell traded shots throughout the first three rounds. A straight left by Russell froze Postol in the fourth round.

Towards the end of the eighth round, Postol landed several right hands, but Russell answered back with clean left hands that caught Postol.

Russell would continue to fire back with harder, clean straight lefts and rights.

Then, Postol began to get worn down in the 10th and final round. Russell sealed the victory by rocking Postol and pinning him against the ropes. The referee stepped in and waved off the fight.

The win extended Russell’s winning streak to 15 and a 15th knockout to go with it.

Postol, who lives in a suburb east of Kyiv, Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Thursday, intends to fly to a neighboring country like Poland or Romania to drive home and protect his family from the war-torn country.

He ended a nearly 18-month layoff. He last fought in a 12-round majority decision loss to former WBC and WBO 140-pound champion Jose Ramirez in August 2020.