Will Gary Russell Jr. Make the Most of Al Haymon's Title Shot Gift?

"It's about who you know, I guess."

The best part about covering combat sports is the honesty. That might sound odd, especially considering the bombastic promoters who have a hard time distinguishing a lie from the truth. But if you catch an athlete on the right day, you're likely to hear verities that can only come from a sport that demands complete and utter integrity from fighters forced to face who and what they really are.

Take Gary Russell Jr.'s (25-1) admission above. The boxing prodigy, once among the sport's top prospects, fights Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8) for the WBC featherweight championship Saturday on Showtime. He knows he's been given a great gift by his manager, power broker Al Haymon. After his clear decision loss to Vasyl Lomachenko, getting a title shot, against an opponent tailor-made for his style, is the kind of opportunity most dream of—dreams dashed often against the cold cruelty of reality.

And he's not afraid to admit it.

"I'm not surprised. I got Al Haymon Promotions," Russell Jr. told the media during a conference call last week.  "He’s my manager, and we know that he did everything in his power to try to make things happen for us and give us another shot at a world title.  I'm extremely grateful and thankful for this opportunity."

Russell Jr., who entered the Lomachenko fight with such promise, speed and precision in his calling cards, left it with a giant question mark attached to his back. Though he had grown up in the gym with his father in Capitol Heights, Maryland, it was as if Russell Jr. was facing adversity in the ring for the first time in his fighting life. And, though he met it head on, showing heart and a solid chin, what he didn't show was an ability to adapt, to figure out why he was losing and to do something about it.

It was a loss many boxing pundits noted with a wise nod of the head. Russell Jr. had been criticized for his lack of stiff competition, cruising to title contention over a string of opponents so inconsequential they didn't even warrant the moniker "B fighter." This wasn't "the right way" to storm the gates in boxing.

Normally a fighter works his way through progressively tougher competition, preparing him physically and mentally for the challenges he'll face at the top. Instead, the 2011 ESPN "Prospect of the Year" was fighting the same level of competition three years after winning the award.

Russell Jr., it seemed, had the physical part all figured out. It was the mental and spiritual games that found him lacking. Learning to win, on the fly, against the best in the world, is perhaps an impossible task. That worldview was underscored by Lomachenko's win. 

Jhonny Gonzalez, an aging champion best known for his stunning knockout of Abner Mares, may be the cure for what ails Russell Jr. Though he'll come into the fight with huge edges in experience and power, he'll also be at a huge disadvantage when the fists start flying. Russell Jr. was built for speed. And though his hand speed was once dismissed by Bad Left Hook's Oli Goldstein as "decorative," it will always be his first, last and best route to success.

"I don't think that he's going to be able to deal with my speed," Russell Jr. said. "He's always been slow in the speed. Even though he's been a puncher, a lot of punchers have to really sit to actually apply these punches efficiently. I think he lacks the ring generalship as far as the footwork goes that he would need—the foot quickness. And a lot of his shots are a little wide. So, I'll be about to outpunch him and be able to punch him between his shots."

Typical boxing shop talk? To an extent, though, Russell's straightforward analysis of his opponent was more technical than boastful. He knows this is a long game. At 26, Russell Jr. has no intention of changing his game, of desperately courting fans or of becoming something he's not. He's here, in his mind, for a number of reasons, almost all of them coming down to an undisputed fact—he's one heck of a boxer. Too much of a boxer, in fact, for a fighter like Gonzalez. 

"I honestly don't feel as though that we have to do anything out of the ordinary. You're going to see the typical Gary Russell Jr. that you've seen the previous 24 fights—hand speed, punching ability, ring generalship. A lot of fighters get caught up in the hype, and they feel as though they have to do things a little more to win the fans over, etc. That’s never one of my things. I’m always to be exciting without being reckless. And I'm going to do what it is that I'm comfortable doing."

Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for the latest news and analysis.