Russell’s title defense featured on Garcia-Barrios undercard
Gary Antuanne Russell’s defense of his WBA junior welterweight title against Andy Hiraoka has been placed on the undercard of Ryan Garcia’s bout with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on February 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources have confirmed to ESPN.
The Russell-Hiraoka matchup was initially scheduled for the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis but had to be moved when that fight was cancelled due to Davis’ recent legal issues. Paul subsequently faced Anthony Joshua in December, but Russell-Hiraoka did not feature on the revised card.
Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) will be making his first title defense after claiming the title from Jose Valenzuela in March. Hiraoka (24-0, 19 KOs), who fights out of Japan, last competed in September 2024, where he defeated Ismael Barroso by stoppage in the 9th round.
