Former Petaluma High School quarterback Mike Russell wins pro boxing debut with first-round TKO

Petaluma boxer “Magic” Mike Russell won his first professional bout over the weekend in Pleasanton, making quick work of his opponent, scoring an 8-count and a TKO within 36 seconds.

Russell, who came into the match with a 78-12 amateur record, dispatched Ignacio “El Toro” Zambrano at the Alameda County Fairgrounds on Saturday with a flurry of strikes about 15 seconds after he landed a right hook that sent Zambrano to his knee.

The cruiserweight division fight (178-200 pounds) also was the pro debut for Zambrano, who also fights in mixed martial arts.

“I knew that he was hurt (after the 8-count). I did what I had to do to close it,” Russell said Monday.

Zambrano, 27, of Stockton, then threw a right that grazed Russell’s face, but he spun out of the way and countered with a flurry of punches.

“I threw a few combinations on him and the ref stopped the fight,” he said. “It was a great feeling.”

Local sports fans may remember Russell as the starting quarterback of the 12-1 Petaluma High School football team that won the Sonoma County League title, going undefeated, and advanced to the 2009 North Coast Section Division II semifinals.

Russell, 24, trains under Richard Lopez at Santa Rosa’s Double Punches Boxing Club in the Salvation Army building. He’s been training since age 9.

He planned to go pro in 2015, but his stepmother, Shelly Russell, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She fought the disease for 13 months but died in September.

“I tried my hardest to get my pro debut so she could come and watch,” Russell said. “Unfortunately she passed before I could. But I made this fight in her memory.”

Nearly 200 local fans attended the bout to cheer him on, said his father, Brian Russell, who assists Lopez in coaching.

The team helped Russell prepare for Zambrano, who has also trained in muay Thai, a combat sport of Thailand that uses stand-up striking and clinching techniques.

“He’s very tough. I knew he was going to be a very tough fighter,” Russell said. “I heard he has a huge heart. He did. He took some punches that I was surprised for him to still be standing.”

Russell’s coach-father said they’d studied Zambrano’s tendencies.

“We knew that his opponent had like five MMA fights. We knew that he probably wouldn’t have the best boxing stance and that would leave him a little bit open,” Brian Russell said. “But you can’t underestimate your opponent.

“He came out in his boxing stance. But like MMA guys do, he dropped his hands.”

Russell said he was nervous leading up to the fight, but settled in to a groove when the lights went down and he heard his walk-up song, “Nowhere” by IamSu! begin.

“If you love it, you gotta do it,” he said. “It’s a career now. It’s more than just a love. I want this to be my career, I want to be a world champion.

“I remember so many people yelling, coming to support me, walking through the crowd. It was definitely that one feeling I’ll remember forever.”

Lopez said Russell’s hard work has set a high standard for the other young boxers at the club, which trains at-risk youths in the sport but also prepares some for high-level competition including Golden Gloves and Silver Gloves.

“He has been a role model to all the kids, succeeding in amateur boxing and then giving back of himself as a volunteer coach,” Lopez said. “He’s humble and doesn’t let things get into his head. He lets the kids know you have to work for it, nothing comes for free. You have to earn it through your education and self-discipline.”

After graduating from Petaluma, Russell played football at College of San Mateo, but returned to Petaluma shortly afterward. He worked for the city of Santa Rosa, then joined his father on the paint crew of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Russell hopes to have another bout in April.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.