Gary “The Lion” Russell Jr. will kick off the FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes telecast live from Barclays Center on Thursday, Jan. 30 when he faces Obregon, Mexico’s Miguel “Yaqui” Tamayo in the opening televised bout on the fight card headlined by the WBA International Welterweight Title fight between “Vicious” Victor Ortiz and Luis Collazo.
The undefeated, although maddeningly inactive and unchallenged, standout from Capitol Heights, Maryland Gary Russell Jr. (23-0, 13 KO’s), expects that this will be the year in which he challenges for a world championship. But hard-hitting southpaw Miguel “Yaqui” Tamayo, from Ciudad Obregon Sonora, Mexico (14-7-2, 12 KO’s) can put a dent in those plans if he can upset the 25-year-old rising star on Jan. 30.
A member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, Staten Island’s “Sir” Marcus Browne (8-0, 7 KO’s) has already thrilled fans at Barclays Center five times as a professional, most recently stopping Kevin Engel in a single round. Now, the 23-year-old goes for six straight wins in Brooklyn when he faces Kentrell Claiborne (4-8, 3 KO’s) of Shreveport, LA in a six-round light heavyweight bout.
Another familiar face to Brooklyn fans will be the Bronx’ Emmanuel Gonzalez (13-0, 7 KO’s), who scored a clear-cut win over previously unbeaten Noel Echevarria on the Sept. 30 event at Barclays Center. On Jan. 30, the unbeaten 26-year-old returns to the arena to square off against Houston, Texas’ Victor Sanchez (5-7-2, 2 KO’s) in an eight-round featherweight matchup.
Making his first start as a member of the Golden Boy Promotions roster, Brooklyn’s own Zachary Ochoa (5-0, 3 KO’s) will put his perfect professional record on the line in a four-round super lightweight bout against Manati, Puerto Rico’s Jose Valderrama (3-6 3 KO’s).
In featherweight action scheduled for eight rounds, Brooklyn’s Rafael Vazquez (9-1, 7 KO’s) takes on St. Paul, Minn.’s Bradley Patraw (10-6, 5 KO’s) and in the six-round cruiserweight opener, New York’s popular Steven “Superman” Bujaj (10-0, 7 KO’s) faces longtime standout Derek Bryant (20-7-1, 17 KO’s) of Philadelphia.
The eight-round super featherweight bout will air beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT followed by the 10-round super welterweight co-featured bout between unbeaten prospects Eddie “E-Boy” Gomez and Daquan “King” Arnett. Also added to the undercard are bouts featuring top local standouts “Sir” Marcus Browne, Emmanuel “Manny” Gonzalez, Zachary Ochoa, Rafael Vazquez and Steven Bujaj.
