Gary Russell's brother helped him learn a painful Olympic lesson at age 12

RIO DE JANEIRO — He was barely 12 years old when Gary Antuanne Russell had one of the most disappointing days of his young life. His older brother, Gary Russell Jr., was in Beijing as a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team.

Gary Jr. had incredibly fast hands and was a medal favorite. But he never got the chance to represent Team USA. He failed to make weight in Beijing and was out of the tournament without competing.

That had a trickle-down affect on Gary Antuanne, one of six sons of Gary Allen Russell Sr. who have the first name Gary.

Gary Antuanne saw what happened to his older brother and even as a preteen, he vowed to learn from it.

That dedication paid off in a big way Wednesday in Gary Antuanne’s Olympic opener with ex-teammate Richardson Hitchins of Haiti. Russell won a unanimous decision, 30-27 twice and 29-28, in their light welterweight bout to advance to the second round.

For the Russell brood – four of the six Garys are boxers – the sport is a means to an end. And Gary Antuanne took that to heart after seeing his brother’s disappointment.

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“Most definitely, most definitely,” he said when asked if he’d learned from Gary Jr.’s issue. “I’ve actually learned from his mistakes. When that happened, it hurt me so much. It hurt me and my family. He was right there at the finish line and he couldn’t cross it. I learned as a junior. I’ve got to keep my weight down low.

“I took some tools from Bernard Hopkins. He never goes five pounds over his weight class. That’s been my ritual, as far as my weight. I don’t go five pounds over.”

Russell was in superb shape Wednesday as he stayed on the inside and outworked Hitchins. Hitchins is from Brooklyn and had been trying to make the U.S. team. He’d trained and sparred often with Russell and had fought him twice.

Russell beat him both times, including in the Olympic trials, leading Hitchins to vow revenge. He said he’d fight Russell completely differently than he had before, and he was a man of his word. For the most part, the two men stood in the center of the ring and went at it.

“I felt it was a close, close fight but I started a little late,” said Hitchins, who was able to qualify for Haiti when former world champion Andre Berto donated money to help him with expenses to get to Azerbaijan for a tournament in which he needed to reach the quarterfinals.

“I started too late. We both was duking it out, trading back and forth, hard shots. He was the better man today.”

Much of Russell’s success stems from his calm demeanor and his maturity. He’s still just a young man, but he’s already planning for his future.

His family isn’t the wealthiest and most of the Garys have given all they have to compete as boxers.

Though Gary Jr. is a pro world champion and has been renowned for having one of the fastest pair of fists in the sport, many have long assumed that Gary Antuanne would turn out to be the best of the Russell brothers when all is said and done.

Boxing isn’t a sport or entertainment for Gary Antuanne, though. Even though he’s an amateur, this is serious business and he’s going about trying to solidify the lives of a family he doesn’t have yet.

“It’s just another stage in life,” he said. “It was always planned for me to be great and provide for my family. That’s the long-term plan: provide. We’re just trying to get financially stable. That’s it. I know I’m going to have offspring. My brother has kids. My other brother has kids. We’re not going to be here forever. We’re just trying to set the foundation.”

The first brick was laid getting past Hitchins. Russell said he would have been better off had he not played Hitchins’ game and stood on the inside, but he faced a difficult test.

He had two wins over Hitchins and that had to boost his confidence, but he also knew that Hitchins knew his strengths and weaknesses better than just about anyone.

“From my own experience, I used to hate going back and fighting guys I’d fought before,” said U.S. coach Billy Walsh, whose surprising young team is now 6-1. “You learn more from a loss than you do from a victory. I was cautious of that a bit, fighting him after beating him twice. He’s got everything to gain; you’ve got everything to lose.

“[Russell] handled it pretty well. I was happy with how he handled it.”

Russell advances to face Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk, the No. 4 seed who had a first-round bye.

He’s in one of the tournament’s toughest classes, but his vanquished rival said not to sell him short.

“He’s a great fighter,” Hitchins said. “I definitely seem him as one of the people who is going to be on top in the pros. Amateurs, he’s not an average opponent. He’s a great fighter. He’s very determined and very strong.”

He’s also very wise. Russell learned a lesson eight years ago from a mistake his older brother made and hasn’t forgot it.

It’s that kind of wisdom that just might make him another dark horse medal contender for this 6-1 U.S. team which is suddenly and unexpectedly filled with them.

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