After almost five years out of the ring, boxer Kemahl “The Hitman” Russell has signed a promotional contract with Tyler Buxton’s United Promotions.

The Toronto-based promotional company, which is among the most influential in Canada, made the announcement on Thursday.

“I’m excited to sign Kemahl, he’s one of the best boxers to come out of Jamaica in recent years,” said Buxton.

Russell, 33, won ‘The Wray & Nephew Contender’ as a middleweight in 2015 — he is also the former Junior North American Boxing Federation (NABF) middleweight champion. The Hitman brings a record of 13-1, with 11 KO’s to the Buxton-United Promotions stable.

Russell made his debut on July 17, 2013 at Jamaica College’s Karl Hendrickson Auditorium with a fight style labelled fan-friendly, quickly propelling himself to the top of the Jamaican boxing food chain.

Russell hasn’t fought since the biggest win of his career, which took place on March 16, 2018 at the National Arena in defence of his Junior NABF Middleweight Championship.

Now eager to get back into the ring, “I feel like I am living my dream,” said Russell.

“I feel like a child that has been deprived from going outside on the playground and now I can go out in my element again.”

The fight was co-promoted by Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing, and Ranson Frank’s Uprising Promotions, at the time, The Hitman’s inner circle further included trainer Steven Frank, adviser Castro Brown, and Manager Leiza-Mae Keane. The Hitman made easy work of veteran Mexican Michi Munoz Zavala (26-7, 19 KOs) in front of a packed house.

High-impact sports like boxing are obvious risks for injury. Sometimes, the most routine sparring and training sessions turn out to be the boxer’s worst fear.

In 2019, while based in a Boulder Colorado training camp, Russell began experiencing minor discomfort and what he described as boxing problematic symptoms. These complications, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, put The Hitman on the sideline and out of the ring.

Russell now fully recovered, after an almost five-year layoff, credited a January 2023 trip to a Canadian-based sports medicine specialist for the scans and examinations that he needed to be cleared fit-to-fight. The Hitman, upon receiving the news, said he could not wait to do what he loves the most — box.

When asked why United Promotions, Russell responded by saying that there is a large Jamaican community in Toronto that is excited about boxing and the United Promotions is emerging as the premier destination for Jamaican boxers.

“I will miss fighting for my fans in Jamaica but I can’t wait to fight for the Jamaican massive in Toronto — walking into the ring with Jamaican flags waving in the stands to the sound of Chronixx and Protoje is going to be iconic.”

Russell signing with United Promotions follows fellow Jamaicans Ricardo Brown (6-0, 6 KO), super welterweight Joshua Frazer (7-0, 6 KO) and super middleweight Shakeel Phinn (24-3-1, 16 KO). Additionally, Russell mentioned that there’s no shortage of other promising middleweights such as Brandon Cook (24-2), Ryan Young (15-4), and Sukhdeep Singh (14-0) in the United Promotions stable that he would like to share the squared circle with.

This spring is projected to be The Hitman’s debut in Canada — details of the fight will be confirmed soon. It is, however, rumoured that The Hitman’s return will be against Swedish-born Niclas Elfstedt (11-1-1) in an eight-round co-feature.

Russell’s words, both cordial and menacing, welcomes the idea of a ring return against a fighter he described as a solid pressure fighter.

“I’m ready now, I will be even more ready then, and I’m going to put on a fantastic show on the day of my first fight in Canada,” he summarised.

“I hope everybody turns out, and enjoys what I have to bring to the table — beautiful, exciting boxing that everybody will be talking about soon.”

Fighting for a bigger cause, when asked if he feels that his journey back to the ring can be used to motivate others, he says, “I share my story, hoping to inspire someone else while they are going through challenging times.” In the face of some of life’s most difficult moments, he said he surprised himself and others with how much he was able to overcome.

“He’s powerful and most importantly, he is hungry to get back in the ring,” explained Buxton.

“Kemahl is capable of moving up the ranks very quickly.”