Bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.) and lightweight Ashley
Barnett (Cleveland, Ohio) have been named USA Boxing’s 2005 Male and Female
Athletes of the Year following their breakout rookie years. Both Russell
and Barnett emerged on the senior scene for the first time in 2005 and put
on a show throughout the year.
Russell earned his first senior national title at only 16-years-old, winning
the 2005 U.S. Championships bantamweight title at the Olympic Training
Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in March. The former Junior Olympic
champion took over the bantamweight division with four impressive victories
at the premier national championship event of the year. His U.S.
Championships title earned the Washington D.C. area teenager a spot on USA
Boxing’s Elite Team and the number one ranking in his bantamweight division.
Yet the Maryland phenom didn’t stop at one national title, he went on to win
the 2005 National Golden Gloves championships in Little Rock, Ark., in May
as well. Russell dominated his division at the Golden Gloves, winning his
first round contest on a retirement and his next three bouts on unanimous
5-0 decisions. He became one of only two boxers to win both the U.S.
Championships and National Golden Gloves with his second national title
before his 17th birthday.
Due to
his young age, Russell couldn’t compete in international competition until
June and he boxed in his first-ever international event in the 2005 World
Cup in Moscow, Russia. Despite facing an early deficit, Russell came rearing
back in the second half of the contest to win a 21-20 decision over Belarus
in his international debut. The then 17-year-old was one of only five U.S.
boxers to win a bout at the elite World Cup event.
Russell continued his theme of competing in elite international events in
November, traveling to Mianyang City, China for the 2005 World Amateur
Boxing Championships, November 11-20. Despite the young pressure of a World
Championships, the remarkably mature and focused Russell remained unfazed.
He won three straight consecutive bouts at the event, defeating a former
European champion in his first bout to win a bronze medal at his first-ever
World Championships. He joined 2004 Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati,
Ohio) as the only two boxers to win a medal at the 2005 World Championships.
Russell’s success throughout 2005 allowed him to maintain his number one
ranking from the first quarter rankings through the fourth quarter
standings. He was one of only four boxers in the United States to maintain
his number one position throughout 2005. With unprecedented success both
nationally and internationally in his first year in the senior division,
Russell is one of the top Olympic hopefuls in the United States and he will
look to continue his reign in 2006.
Barnett burst onto the senior scene with a national title at the 2005 U.S.
Championships in March at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs,
Colo. In addition to winning her first senior national championship, Barnett
was named outstanding female boxer of the premier event.
Following her national success, Barnett joined Team USA for the 2005 Women’s
Continental Championships in April in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was
Barnett’s first international competition but she didn’t allow the high
stakes to faze her in Argentina, winning a silver medal at the Women’s
Continental Championships.
She would garner additional international experience later in the year,
competing as a U.S. team member at the 2005 Women’s World Championships in
Russia. Despite falling short of a World Championships medal, Barnett made
her presence known on the international scene and shows great promise for
the future.
Both Russell and Barnett were former USA Boxing Athletes of the Month in
2005 with Russell winning in November and Barnett taking the honor in March.
USA Boxing, as the national governing
body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of
the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the
United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
