By Jake Donovan 

Jamal James heads home to Minneapolis (Minn.) for the fourth straight time, with the hopes that his latest homecoming will lead to a title shot.

 The resurgent welterweight contender faces former lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco in the main event of a PBC on FS1 telecast Saturday evening, live from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minn.

An incentive for the main event will be a shot at a secondary welterweight title, with Saturday’s winner to be paired with whomever prevails in a July 20 showdown between Sergey Lipinets and John Molina Jr. in Las Vegas. 

UNDERCARD

Bryant Perrella was explosive and relentless in a 3rd round stoppage of Domonique Dolton in a welterweight fight many believed was a pick-‘em affair.

The brief all-action fight saw Perrella land more than five times as many punches as Dolton, who came in riding a three-fight win streak but is a long way off from the once promising prospect out of the late Emanuel Steward’s legendary Kronk Gym.

Detroit’s Dolton began the fight with good intentions, managing to land a couple of right hands to get the attention of his southpaw foe. Perrella weathered the shots, offering a hailstorm of punches in return, tripling up Dolton’s punch output in the opening round.

Both boxers were stunned in round two, Perrella briefly buzzed midway through the frame but storming back to rock Dolton with a blistering left hand. It wasn’t enough to cause a knockdown as both fighters managed to remain upright throughout the brief affair.

It actually proved to be Dolton’s undoing. He was on his feet but under siege early in round three, as Perrella scored with another big left hand. Dolton (22-3-1, 13KOs) remained pinned along the ropes, his gloves glued to his head and not throwing back any punches while Perrella was relentless with the incoming attack.

The lack of two-way action prompted referee Gary Miezwa to intervene, waving off the contest at 1:35 of round three.

Perrella picks up his second straight win as the Ft. Myers (Fla.) southpaw improves to 17-2 (14KOs). His first loss came on the bizarre tour offered by the PBC brass who kept managing to get its welterweight prospects beaten by a returning Yordenis Ugas. He also dropped a competitive decision to former titlist Luis Collazo last summer but is now back in the thick of the second tier of rising welterweights.

In a family where everyone shares the same first and last name, Gary Antonio Russell has always been faced with the task of separating himself from the pack.

More performances like the one he offered on Saturday will certainly get him there.

The unbeaten bantamweight prospect never stopped throwing punches in a 10-round shutout of durable Francisco Pedroza. Scores were 100-90 across the board in favor of Russell (15-0, 11KOs), who landed more than 250 punches over the 10-round contest.

As many punches as was thrown—and landed—by Russell, the 26-year old converted southpaw was forced to hear the scorecards for the second straight time. It’s a testament to the toughness of Tijuana’s Pedroza, who was outfought every step of the way but ended the fight looking to stand and trade with his superior foe.

All told, it was a stellar performance by Russell, whose older brother “Mr.” Gary Russell Jr. is a long-reigning featherweight titlist. While still a way to go before reaching the contender stage, he can at least brag on being far more active than his champion brother. Saturday’s win was his third fight of 2019 after having to settle for just two ring appearances in 2018.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox