The snakebitten Gary Antuanne Russell-Andy Hiraoka clash managed to overcome another snag.
BoxingScene has learned that the status for the scheduled WBA 140lbs title fight has shifted from “cautiously optimistic” to “doubtful” back to "hopeful" due to Hiraoka’s ongoing difficulty in securing a travel visa. The unbeaten WBA mandatory challenger remains stuck in Japan, awaiting clearance to fly to the U.S. in time for Saturday’s title fight with Russell at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Yahoo! Japan first reported that the visa issue remained unresolved as of Tuesday, more than three days after Hiraoka, 24-0 (19 KOs) was due to board a February 14 fight. His team – including promoter Mr. Hideyuki Ohashi, a former strawweight titlist – remains hopeful that the issue can get resolved in the next day or two.
BoxingScene has since learned that significant progress was made on Wednesday (local time), confirming a breaking news report from Ring Magazine's Mike Coppinger. The development should allow Hiraoka to board a flight in time to at least make weight and proceed with fight night. Given the long distance, though, Hiraoka is now looking at minimal turnaround to shake off jet lag and acclimate to the new time zone and climate for his first career title fight.
Russell, 18-1 (17 KOs) is due to make the first defense of his WBA junior welterweight title. It is unclear as this goes to publication whether a contingency plan was in place for the 28-year-old southpaw from the greater Washington, D.C. area.
The bout remains on course to serve in supporting capacity on Saturday’s DAZN pay-per-view, topped by the Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia WBC welterweight title fight. The show already includes two more junior welterweight contests, which at least leaves hope to mix and match if it means keeping two title fights in the lineup.
IBF titlist Richardson Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs) is set for his second attempted defense, as the native New Yorker and 2016 Haitian Olympian faces Mexico’s Oscar Duarte, 30-2-1 (23 KOs).
Deeper on the card is a pivotal 140lbs non-title fight between Frank Martin, 19-1 (13 KOs) and Nahir Albright, 17-2 (7 KOs).
Martin is currently ranked No. 7 by the WBA at 140lbs, which could make him a potential “break glass in case of emergency” challenger should the situation arise.
For now, it appears that the original plans for all three bouts remain in place.
Russell-Hiraoka has been in play for more than seven months, particularly after one fight date fell through.
The attractive matchup was previously budgeted for the undercard of the eventually canceled Jake Paul-Gervonta Davis novelty clash due to take place last November 14 on Netflix from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Davis is with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), whose involvement in the show at the time meant an available slot to place Russell in a title defense.
Paul, 12-2 (7 KOs) went on to face former two-time unified heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua in December. The rescheduled event included most of the supporting cast from the November date, absent Russell-Hiraoka since PBC was no longer involved in the main event.
Russell has not fought since his title win, which came in a March 1 unanimous decision over Jose Valenzuela, 14-3 (9 KOs). The win saw the 2016 Olympian became the second member of his proud fighting family to win a major title. Oldest brother Gary Russell Jnr headed the corner that evening, a role he assumed after the 2022 passing of their family patriarch Gary Russell Snr.
Russell’s career-best win came nine months after his most forgettable night as a pro. He dropped a twelve-round decision to Alberto Puello in their vacant WBC junior welterweight title fight last June 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hiraoka has been the mandatory challenger since a September 2024 ninth-round knockout of Ismael “Abuelo” Barroso, 25-5-2 (23 KOs) last September 3 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The bout was part of a show headlined by celebrated stablemate Naoya Inoue’s seventh-round stoppage of TJ Doheny to successfully defend his undisputed junior featherweight championship.
With the win, Hiraoka, also a 28-year-old southpaw, claimed his 10th consecutive knockout victory. He’s yet to be taken beyond the 11th round, a distance he was extended in an eventual October 2021 knockout of countryman Jin Sasaki, a recent welterweight title challenger.
Unfortunately, Hiraoka has yet to fight since that win over Barroso. The shame in this particular scenario is that Hiraoka is in peak condition and already on weight. Hopefully, the minimal turnaround time in arriving to the U.S. and enduring a crash course to this weekend won't affect his performance on this stage.
