By Cliff Rold

If speed kills, 27-year old WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr. (27-1, 16 KO), 126, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, might be a closet assassin. Possessing some of the fastest hands in any weight class since the prime of Meldrick Taylor, Russell showed why only a certain level of fighter around his weight class competes on Saturday night at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

32-year old Patrick Hyland (31-1, 15 KO), 126, of Dublin, Ireland, simply isn’t on that level. Suffering three knockdowns in the second round, Hyland was run out of the ring in two rounds. The referee was Danny Schiavone.

Hyland had some flickers of success in the first. His right hand got home even as Russell controlled the space and showed off a wild advantage in speed. In the second, that gap became a no contest rout.

Hyland was blasted with a right hand in the second for the first knockdown of his career and looked unsteady as he got up. The southpaw right hook of Russell remained a weapon Hyland simply couldn’t defend against from there.

Russell blistered Hyland and the Irishman went flailing into the ropes. It was ruled that the ropes kept him up and the referee administered the count. Nodding he could go on, Hyland matched forward to his doom. Russell stepped in, the right again tagging Hyland and sending him pirouetting to the floor. Hyland settled on the ring apron and the referee waved the one-sided beating closed at 1:33 of the second.

Russell notched his first successful title defense more than a year after walloping Jhonny Gonzalez to win the belt. Russell didn’t sound like he wants another year off, stating he’d welcome unification options with IBF titlist Lee Selby and WBA titlist Leo Santa Cruz. “Definitely all of the above. We’d love to get the fight Lee Selby and unify.” 

He also turned an eye to the lone man to defeat him, making clear he wants a rematch. “(Vasyl) Lomachenko, you’ve got to see me. It’s going down.” Asked if Lomachenko’s pending rise in weight is an issue, Russell said no. “I will follow him to whatever weight he’s in.”

Lomachenko is the current WBO featherweight titlist and will challenge in his next fight for the WBO 130 lb. crown against Roman Martinez.

Whether we see that fight again some day is hard to say. Russell unifying a portion of the featherweight crown could happen before the year is out.

Many felt he was lucky to defend his title last time out against Edner Cherry. 26-year old IBF 130 lb. titlist Jose Pedraza (22-0, 12 KO), 129, of Cidra, Puerto Rico, made his own luck this time around, scoring a knockdown in the ninth en route to a unanimous decision over 30-year old Stephen Smith (23-2, 13 KO), 129, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom. Pedraza halts an eleven fight win streak for Smith, the younger brother of 154 lb. titlist Liam Smith.

The referee was Eddie Claudio.

Both men landed well in spots but the fight never really seemed to catch fire in the early going. It was clinical stuff full of feints and footwork and stiff single shots but not much sustained leather. Smith won at least a few rounds though Pedraza seemed ahead.

Matters changed in the last four rounds. Pedraza landed a right hand in the ninth to send Smith tumbling down, an official knockdown though Smith was back up quickly. He didn’t seem too hurt but Pedraza jumped on him with some more hard shots and Smith held on.

Smith gamely fought back hard in the last three rounds, landing some big shots in the tenth to keep Pedraza honest. In the last two rounds, they stayed close enough and fatigue made both men more offensive. It worked to Pedraza’s benefit, as his heavier hands never let Smith have much of a chance to score the miracle comeback he needed.

The scores came in fair at 117-110 and a matching 116-111. Speaking through a translator after the fight, Pedraza gave Smith respect for being a tough twelve rounds and acknowledged the controversy of his last outing, crediting his preparation for this one. Whether Cherry will get an earned rematch remains to be seen. 

The bout was televised in the US on Showtime as part of its “Championship Boxing” series, promoted by DiBella Entertainment.   

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com