Comments Thread For: The Case for Gary Russell Jr. Fighting Once A Year

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Mitch Abramson - His appearance is as frequent as Groundhog Day. For the past five years, featherweight titleholder Gary Russell Jr. has fought just once in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He emerges from his burrow, usually performs brilliantly, and then returns to his hibernation. If consistency is the key to remaining sharp, then Russell...
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[PredatorStyle]

Well if he doesn't care what fans think then I doubt he cares about legacy

[KillaMane26]

You have to be a big name to get away with fighting once a year otherwise its a terrible career move.

[Ray*]

Has anyone actually asked him that question? So far I have heard that he suffers from Crohn disease to not been able to get fights, and that it isn’t really his choice to be fighting once a year etc

[ShoulderRoll]

It's true that by fighting once a year GRJ saves wear and tear on his body.

But he is also pocketing fewer paydays.

And fighters who are inactive can never reach their peak. They can't hone themselves to a razor's edge that way.

So he is gaining some things but also losing out on others.

[Raimondo]

Has anyone actually asked him that question? So far I have heard that he suffers from Crohn disease to not been able to get fights, and that it isn’t really his choice to be fighting once a year etc

Well if it's true then it's very sad. That disease is bad as hell since it can affect your bowels. (:

Even if its not about his health condition, at the end of the day if Gary gets paid well for fighting once/year and he has a lot of time to enjoy his life then good for him.

[Ray*]

Well if it's true then it's very sad. That disease is bad as hell since it can affect your bowels. (:

Even if its not about his health condition, at the end of the day if Gary gets paid well for fighting once/year and he has a lot of time to enjoy his life then good for him.

That’s the thing, I heard that from another boxing circle. Am a Pharmacy Assesor so i totally under the crohn disease thing, but I know it’s a private thing but I have never heard that from GRJ himself or anyone ask him about it. Secondly I have heard him complaining about wanting to be active, but then others are saying it has always been his choice not to be active. So I really want someone to ask him why he fights once a year. Just to get a bit of clarity to this.

[kiaba360]

It's true that by fighting once a year GRJ saves wear and tear on his body.

But he is also pocketing fewer paydays.

And fighters who are inactive can never reach their peak. They can't hone themselves to a razor's edge that way.

So he is gaining some things but also losing out on others.

And fighting once a year never allows him to maintain a buzz. Even when guys like GGG and Spence weren't getting the top guys, their activity allowed them to build and maintain the "boogeyman" buzz. He's only in front of our TV screens once a year, it's ridiculous.

[Corelone]

He doesnt have a lot of fights, a short career by the numbers. He'll be remembered for sitting on the title and losing to Loma. I don't think there is a "He didn't fight, so he didn't get hurt" category in the HOF.

[giant_king]

I'm not knocking what Gary does because if guys like Joe Frazier and Ali took less fights in there career they'll still be alive