Where one local fighter came up short, another made up for it as Gary Antuanne Russell (17-0, 17 KOs) earned a first-round TKO victory over Kent Cruz (16-1-3, 10 KOs) on Showtime. It was clear that Russell was the faster and more polished fighter of the two. The hand speed and power were too much for Cruz to handle, who struggled to make the contracted weight of 140 pounds.
Russell started with that solid right jab and continued to land his combinations first, which gave Cruz a ton of issues early. After taking a left and right hook to the head, Cruz took a knee, and the fight's first knockdown was recorded. Once Cruz got up, Russell jumped on him and landed a left uppercut to the chest, which sent him down for the second time, and he couldn’t get up after that. Russell scores the TKO victory, and the future looks bright for the 27-year-old junior welterweight.
Twitter reacts to the first round TKO by Gary Anuanne Russell over Kent Cruz
.@AntuanneRussell kept his winning streak alive 🔥 #RussellCruz #RodriguezLopez pic.twitter.com/URjnkZZVxi
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 13, 2023
Kent Cruz did exactly as well as I expected him to do when he got announced. Bad fight on paper, waste of time in the ring.
— The Philly Greyfather (@BoxrecGrey) August 13, 2023
He running through everybody 👀 https://t.co/TlQDI0E7Pf
— CORNERMAN BOXING 🥊 (@ag_cornerman) August 13, 2023
Easy first round blowout for Gary Antuanne Russell. Who is going to be willing to fight him right now at 140?
— John Einreinhofer (@realjohnelaw) August 13, 2023