He beat Chinese Yushan Nijiati to reach the finals where he edged out Russian top favorite Rakhim Chakkhiev 7–6.

In the 2008 Olympics he won the silver medal, losing the final round and so the competition to Rakhim Chakkhiev.

[5] At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Russo again won the silver medal, losing the final to Oleksandr Usyk.

[4] Russo retired from boxing on 22 July 2021 after unsuccessfully requesting a wild card to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

[2][10] Since retiring from boxing, Russo has participated in a number of reality shows on Italian television, including Big Brother VIP in 2016 and as a correspondent for Le Iene.