Russell vs Diaz fight headed to Maryland, not Montreal, on May 19

Despite previous reports that the two would be part of the Stevenson-Jack undercard in Montreal, ESPN reports that the May 19 featherweight title bout between Gary Russell Jr and Joseph Diaz Jr will instead take place in Oxon Hill, Maryland, part of a split site Showtime broadcast that evening, which does include Stevenson-Jack as the TV main event.

Russell (28-1, 17 KO) and Diaz (26-0, 14 KO) will meet for Russell’s WBC belt, which Russell hasn’t defended in about a year, since defeating Oscar Escandon on May 20 of last year. It’s the latest in a series of long breaks for the 29-year-old southpaw; his last three fights have come in March 2015, April 2016, and May 2017.

Diaz, on the other hand, has stayed busy. He beat Manuel “Tino” Avila on May 6 of last year, then Rafael Rivera on the Canelo-GGG undercard in September. Most recently, he knocked out veteran Victor Terrazas on February 22.