Russel twice reached the finals of Golden Gloves as an amateur, winning the gold medal in 2013 and finishing as a runner-up in 2014.

[6] Russel faced Juan Carlos Payano on 19 December 2020, on the undercard of the WBC interim featherweight title bout between Reymart Gaballo and his future opponent Emmanuel Rodríguez.

Referee Sharon Sands ruled that Rodriguez was unable to continue, due to a cut on the bridge of his nose which came from an accidental clash of heads.

[12] Russel faced Emmanuel Rodríguez on 15 October 2022, in a WBA and IBF bantamweight title eliminator..

The bout was a rematch of their 14 August 2021 fight, which ended in a no contest, due to a clash of heads.