Valenzuela vs Russell joins Tank vs Roach on Mar. 1
PBC’s March 1st “Tank” Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr show is officially a title doubleheader, as “Rayo” Valenzuela will battle Gary Antuanne Russell in the co-feature
Despite some odd comments on Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ part, he’s still officially set to defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr on March 1st, and PBC announced today that Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela will meet Gary Antuanne Russell in the co-feature.
Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KO) looked poised for a deep run at lightweight before suffering back-to-back losses to Edwin De Los Santos and Chris Colbert, the former a vicious knockout and the latter a questionable decision. To his credit, he bounced back with a gnarly finish of Colbert in their rematch, then moved to 140 to upset Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz for the WBA belt.
Despite the momentum, he’ll enter his first defense in an awkward spot, as he publicly split with and filed suit against former trainer/manager Jose Benavidez Sr.
Russell (17-1, 17 KO) entered the pro ranks with considerable hype after an unjustly early exit in Rio, but has unfortunately followed in the Russell tradition of inactivity. He’s fought just twice since 2022, mauling Kent Cruz in August 2023 before falling to Alberto Puello in an interim WBC title fight 10 months later.
It should be an entertaining fight, but it’s frustrating to see Russell get this opportunity off of a loss despite interim champ Andy Hiraoka being ostensibly next in line. Just WBA things, I guess.