Mike Alvarado vs. Ruslan Provodnikov confirmed for October 19th on HBO

By Boxing News - 08/01/2013 - Comments

provodnikov32By Eric Thomas: The October 19th fight between light welterweight Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) and Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KO’s) has been confirmed. The fight will take place at the First Bank Center, Denver, Colorado, USA, and will be televised by HBO.

If Provodnikov can fight like he did against WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley last March, it could be a good fight. Provodnikov looked good and almost got a knockout in the 12th. Alvarado recently avenged his loss to Brandon Rios by defeating him in their rematch last March.

Alvarado had to change his fighting style in order to win by circling constantly, and using in and out attacks. However, it was effective because he survived to get the decision.

The winner of the fight could get either Manny Pacquiao or Brandon Rios. Top Rank doesn’t have a lot of options at 140, so we could see Alvarado back in the ring with Rios for a third fight win or lose.

If Alvarado was fighting with his old slugging style, Provodnikov would have a good chance at winning this fight. However, Alvarado is using more movement now, and if he tastes some of Provodnikov’s power early, he’ll likely choose to move all night like he did against Rios.

The only thing that will slow that process down is if Provodnikov can do a good job of cutting off the ring to force Alvarado to fight him more. If not, then Alvarado will choose to move a lot and win by that method.

In a straight fight, Alvarado might swell up, cut up and get stopped by Provodnikov. You have to remember that Alvarado went life and death with Breidis Prescott in 2011 and was on the verge of getting beaten by him when he pulled out a 10th round stoppage.

Alvarado tried slugging with Rios in their first fight in October last year and was quickly stopped in the 7th. Alvarado is a slugger but he gets beaten up too easily, and Provodnikov would likely break him down too if he went toe-to-toe with him.



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