Gary Antonio Russell beat Victor Santillan by unanimous decision on August 22, 2026, and left DAZN boxing with the WBA interim super bantamweight title. The fight ended with Santillan on his feet after a twelfth-round knockdown, but the cards were never close enough to hide the separation Russell created late.
That is why the result matters now. A new interim champion at 122 lbs changes the shape of a division already controlled by Naoya Inoue, and it gives Russell a claim that could become even bigger depending on what happens next at the top of the weight class. For readers looking for the live consequence of the bout, this was not just a win. It was a title shift.
Robert Hoyle had to warn both fighters repeatedly to stop holding, a sign of how messy the bout was at times. It was a frustrating battle of two southpaws, with holding and wrestling slowing the rhythm early. Yet once Russell found room in the middle rounds, he began landing combinations on Santillan, and Santillan had no answer when Russell switched to speed and cleaner boxing.
The scoring told the same story. Russell won 118-109 on one card and 119-108 twice, a wide margin that reflects how many rounds he controlled even in a fight that often looked tied up on the inside. Santillan’s late effort to survive the twelfth, after Russell dropped him with a right hand, kept the bout from ending inside the distance but did not change the outcome.
Russell improved to 22-1, while Santillan fell to 16-3. The bigger question now is whether Inoue stays at 122 lbs or moves on. If Inoue remains to defend in a super fight against Bam Rodriguez and then goes up to feather, Russell could be elevated to full WBA champion. For now, he is the interim titleholder. In a division waiting on one man’s next move, that is as real as anything can be.
