Russell vs. Santiago Archives - Europe's No.1 Boxing Website

1 December 2021

Alejandro Santiago wants Gary Antonio Russell rematch as title eliminator

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Alejandro Santiago wants Gary Antonio Russell rematch as title eliminator | Boxen247.com (Kristian von Sponneck)

Accustomed to boxing’s ups and downs, Mexican bantamweight contender Alejandro “Peque” Santiago says he’s not going to let his nationally televised and highly controversial majority-decision loss to Gary Antonio Russell last Saturday night (November 27) slow him down.

With the Showtime cameras rolling at Park MGM’s Dolby Live in Las Vegas, Santiago (24-3-5, 13 KOs) and Russell fought a grueling all-out war for ten rounds with many feeling Santiago’s pressuring style had outshined the undefeated Russell’s speed after 10 intense rounds.

However, once again it was not to be for the hard-luck Santiago, as Russell was given the nod via a questionable majority-decision. Judges Steve Morrow and Benoit Roussel scored Russell a 96-94 winner, while Judge Lisa Giampa scored the contest a draw at 95-95.

The “victim” of several controversial draws against top fighters in high-profile fights, including one particularly dubious draw against IBF Super Flyweight Champion Jerwin Ancajas in 2018, 25-year-old Santiago, from Tijuana, Baja California, says he’s not shocked or disheartened by the loss to Russell.

“I wasn’t shocked because I have been here before,” explained Santiago, post-fight. “My team had warned me that the closer rounds will go to Russell because he is the house fighter. When my promoter Paco Damian calls me for an opportunity like this, I never say no. I embrace the opportunity and I don’t care if I have to go and fight my opponents in their backyard. I mean, look at my record I have five draws, I believe I won all those fights including the Jerwin Ancajas world title fight.”

In fact, the realistic Santiago surprisingly blames himself for the setback.

“I don’t like to use the term robbed,” said Santiago. “In my opinion, I thought I won 6 of the 10 rounds. It was a very close fight and there is no one here to blame but me. I blame myself because it took me the first couple of rounds to make adjustments and follow our game plan.”

Despite the disappointment, Santiago says his strong performance against Russell, a celebrated 2016 U.S. Olympian, negates any career damage he may suffer.

“I would love the opportunity to fight Russell again, I think it was a great fight and I’m sure many people will love to watch us do it again. And this time, I would like it to be for a title eliminator that will give the winner the opportunity to fight for a world title. But if Russell doesn’t want another war that I will bring, we move on. My career has been defined by people underestimating me and paying the price for their mistake. I’ll be back.”

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29 November 2021

Gary Antonio Russell defeats Alexandro Santiago

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Gary Antonio Russell defeats Alexandro Santiago | Boxen247.com (Kristian von Sponneck)

Gary Antonio Russell vs. Alexandro Santiago Result

Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, USA – 27 November 2021

Unbeaten bantamweight contender Gary Antonio Russell (19-0, 12 KOs) earned a close majority decision win by edging Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago (24-3-5, 13 KOs) in an action-packed fight that kicked off the telecast.

“I thought I won the fight and I thought I clearly out boxed him,” said Russell. “He was tough and tried to be rugged and aggressive. I had the headbutts from my last fight in the back of my mind, so I tried to keep it clean and get my rounds in.”

In a back-and-forth fight, Russell seemed to take the early lead with an effective jab and speed advantage that allowed him to land combinations from the southpaw stance. Russell out landed Santiago in each round across the first half of the fight, before Santiago began to turn the tide.

“It was a very close fight today,” said Santiago. “I have to press more to get the judges to see the fight in my favor. I saw in the beginning rounds that he was very repetitive. If I was more aggressive in the early rounds, I could have pulled off the win.”

“He was rough and he didn’t want to keep it clean, so I had to fight on the inside,” said Russell. “He’s a shorter fighter so I knew he was going to try his best to get on the inside against me.”

Throughout the middle rounds Santiago was able to close the distance and had success to the body, out landing Russell 51-23 in that department overall. With the contest in the balance, the final two rounds saw both men engage in toe-to-toe action looking for a blow to swing the bout in their favor.

After 10 rounds, Russell earned a narrow decision and remained unbeaten, with scores of 95-95 and 96-94 twice.

“I feel like I’m ready for the champions,” said Russell. “I’d love to fight John Riel Casimero for his belt. But I’ll fight any of the champions. People can look at this and say I’m not ready for the next step. But I know what I’m capable of.”