Provodnikov defends against Algieri on 6/14

By Boxing News - 04/10/2014 - Comments

provodnikovBy Dan Ambrose: In a disappointing match-up, WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KO’s) will be defending his title against #13 Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO’s) on HBO on June 14th from the Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York, USA. It’s surprising that HBO said yes to this fight, because it’s an awful one.

According to ESPN, Provodnikov’s trainer Freddie Roach turned down Hank Lundy for Provodnikov. Roach didn’t like the match-up for some reason. Thomas Dulorme was turned down by HBO because of his recent fight against Karim Mayfield, which wasn’t all that entertaining to watch. However, HBO must have skipped over Algieri’s boring win over Emmanuel Taylor last February, and his equally dull wins over Mike Arnaoutis and Wilfredo Acuna. Those performances made Dulorme’s fight against Mayfield seem thrilling in comparison.

Provodnikov beat Mike Alvarado to win the WBO 140lb title in his last fight. The Russian fighter called “The Siberian Rocky” was hoping to get a big fight after the win over Alvarado, but nothing fell into his lap.

Perhaps one reason why Provodnikov didn’t get a decent fight against Brandon Rios or one of the other Top Rank fighters is because he’s only under contract with them for 1 more fight. It wouldn’t be a good deal for Top Rank for Provodnikov to destroy Rios or whip Alvarado again, because he would then be gone and those fighters would be less valuable after the loss to him.

Provodnikov will definitely beat Algieri on June 14th without any problems, but it’ll be boring to watch because Algieri is a mover. HBO will likely be sorry that they televised this fight because it’s not likely going to bring in big ratings because Provodnikov’s not being matched up with a well-known fighter. What HBO should have done is said no to the fight altogether and waited until a better name was floated for Provodnikov to fight like Mauricio Herrera or Lucas Matthysse.



Comments are closed.