Tim Bradley barely survives Ruslan Provodnikov

By Boxing News - 03/16/2013 - Comments

bradley15By Gerardo Granados: WBO Welterweight belt holder Tim Bradley put on a great effort and showed to have a heart bigger than his chest winning a close 12 round unanimous decision to the brave Russian fighter Ruslan Provodnikov, but also was exposed by a hard hitting but also limited brawler who failed to take several opportunities to knock out his rival.

The first two rounds were dominated by Provodnikov who failed to finish off Bradley. Tim was not counted for a clear knock down on the first round. On the third and fourth rounds Ruslan simply didn’t throw punches allowing his opponent to recover.

Provodnikov was instructed on his corner to be selective with his punches, maybe to avoid him running out off gas but he was also not instructed to attack the body. Meanwhile Bradley took advantage of his speed and adjusted, out boxing Ruslan for the best part of the fight but once he got hit he was clearly hurt several times.

On the last round Ruslan was back on business and knocked down Bradley who made the count and was saved by the bell.

This fight was great, full of action and drama. A friend of mine believes the long lay off of Bradley is the reason why he barely survived the fight, but I think the lack of power of Tim is the main reason why he will struggle in the near future to retain his welterweight strap. Maybe now Juan Manuel Marquez will be interested to fight him but for sure other must have seen the weakness showed by Bradley this night. Perhaps a rematch between Bradley and Provodnikov would be a good option but for sure this fight must be a candidate for fight of the year award.

This was a good night to watch a thrilling fight and I hope we the boxing fans get the chance to watch more this year. Cheers for both fighters!



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