Gary Russell Jr looking to unify or move up in weight

Gary Russell Jr admits he wasn’t thrilled with his own performance on Saturday, when he beat Joseph Diaz Jr by decision to retain the WBC featherweight title, but the fighter is looking to move on — and to something bigger, perhaps literally.

Russell (29-1, 17 KO) says he’s looking to unify at 126 or move up in weight:

“I was disappointed in my performance, because I wasn’t planning on going the distance. I hurt the right hand, but I still had to use it, because he could not get past my jab. The jab definitely dictated everything I did. My speed offset everything he tried to do coming forward.

“We want a unification. We want to unify this division, or we’re moving up in weight for another title. I want another belt.”

If he’s looking to unify, Russell could face the Santa Cruz-Mares II winner, new titleholder Josh Warrington, or Oscar Valdez. But first things first, he might want to fight more than once a year, which is the normal complaint pretty much everyone has with Russell. If he’s looking for the truly big fights, he probably doesn’t want to sit around until 2019 waiting to get one. Or maybe he does.