Gary Russell Jr. & The Weight Of Potential Greatness

by Gautham Nagesh 

Even for boxing, Rosecroft Raceway is an odd venue. Horses rarely run around the faded oval these days, though the lobby is still home to small but dedicated crowd. They stare eagerly at simulcasts while clutching betting slips, oblivious to the steady stream of fight fans ascending to the top floor.

For the uninitiated, this racetrack in Ft. Washington, Md. may seem like an unlikely temple to pugilism. Yet Rosecroft is home to Old School Boxing Gym, and has long played host to fight cards on a variety of levels. Almost a half-century ago during the Summer of Love, future heavyweight champion George Foreman won his third professional bout here, a first-round knockout of Sylvester Dullaire. The small but steady crowds that troop here every other month for shows promoted by Keystone Boxing know the Sweet Science, and are quick to spot a fraud between the ropes.

The most recent card here last month featured a host of local prospects, capped by a standout performance from 2011 Stiff Jab Amateur Boxer of the year Mike Reed. The scene was cramped, with a few hundred folding chairs crammed around a minuscule ring that seemed smaller than the advertised 16 feet. There are no real dressing rooms or entrances, so fighters are forced to enter from the restrooms in the back, making their way through the crowd of their friends and family to ascend to a ring that barely seems to fit beneath the dropped ceiling.