Everything keeps moving forward. No time lost.
It has to, Gary Antuanne Russell stresses, or so much of what his family’s patriarch, Gary Russell Sr., has delicately passed on to his kids will be for naught.
One of boxing’s most accomplished families, Russell Sr. named five of his six sons Gary. Eventually training them to stardom, Russell Sr. first brought them into the ring in order to keep them away from trouble in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
Now renowned as one of the best trainers of his era, Russell Sr. helped his eldest son, Gary Jr., become WBC featherweight champion of the world en route to a 31-2 record. Gary Antuanne has raced out to a 15-0 record, while another son, Gary Antonio, owns a 19-0 record – both are rapidly closing in on title opportunities as they climb into the top 10 of their respective divisions.
Gary Antuanne next challenges Rances Barthelemy (29-1) in a super lightweight bout as the opening fight on the Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez card Saturday night at Barclays Center (9 p.m., Showtime). As he looks to continue his ascent, he’ll be doing so with a heavy heart, and without so much of what made his family what it is – both in name and in influence.
Russell Sr. died of Type 2 diabetes in May at the age of 63, only a few weeks after needing to have his foot amputated.
“I’ve been taking on a lot of battles,” Gary Antuanne told The Post. “Back to back, back to back, and I’ve been like, I’ve got to endure. I’ve got to endure. I was flipping the newspaper and I saw a lady with half a body and I said ‘Well I’ll be damned.’ She’s trying out for the olympics, half a body, and life isn’t taking any mercy on her. So I can’t even complain. Yeah, people come and go, but that’s the way of life.
“But the emotions are something that everybody can’t bear. So I’ve been dealing with that. And that’s been pushing me, motivating me. I’ve got my older brother here with me, all my brothers here with me, and they’re motivating me, getting me right for this fight. That’s been my main fight here.”
Gary Antuanne, for the first time in his burgeoning career, won’t have his father in his corner. He knew exactly where to turn, however, to continue what he had started. Gary Jr. has taken on the role of his younger brother’s trainer, and will be in his corner in Brooklyn.
It’s a moment the whole family has long been ready for.
“I was telling my oldest brother, Mr. Gary Russell Jr., I said ‘When pops was here, you were in a role of fully finding out your position as the oldest brother. But now pops is gone, you’ve got to find the role of the oldest brother, and you’ve got to take on the luggage of pops.’ So that’s a load within itself.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t difficult at all,” Gary Jr. added. “I’ve always worked side by side with my father when it came to training my younger brothers and giving them the correct instructions, stuff like that. I think the biggest thing is just, pop’s not here, man. It’s just, pop’s not here. I’m grateful that he’s given me the tools and the skillset to properly be able to continue to cast on these jewels, and keep this legacy moving.”
As Gary Antaunne and Gary Jr. dealt with the loss, they were reminded of all their father taught them and how it prepared them so well to deal with something like this.
And why it would be a disservice to that legacy to take any steps back now, regardless of the adversity.
“A parent that doesn’t teach their children for life outside of them as a parent has failed,” Gary Jr. said. “In the jungle, if you have a lion or a lioness that doesn’t properly teach their cub how to survive in the jungle, how to hunt, within a certain age, or within a certain time frame, their chances at survival grow slimmer. We’ve learned how to hunt very, very young, we learned how to hunt before it was time for us to learn how to hunt. To bring that intellect, that’s moreso one of the things that I took from my father.”
In explaining his overwhelming dominance inside the ring, Gary Antuanne points to “intellect” imparted from his father as well. He’s knocked out all 15 opponents he’s faced, and at 26-years-old, is viewed as one of the most technically gifted boxers in the sport.
But he keeps coming back to that intellect, and his ability to carry multiple gameplans and adjust on the fly. He can outsmart any opponent, he promises, and that’s where he’s adamant he separates himself.
As he enters the biggest challenge of his career, the messenger of that intellect will be different, but the message remains the same. The Gary Russell story, and legacy, keeps moving forward.
“As my oldest brother says: ‘Two directions we’re going. We’re either going to be at our destination. Or we’re en route to our destination,’ ” Gary Antuanne said. “Even if we’re at our destination, we’re already looking around and saying ‘What’s next?’ ”
