By Allan Fox: WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KO’s) says he’s going into his fight this Saturday night against unbeaten #13 WBO challenger Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO’s) like he’s the challenger instead of champion when the two of them square off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Provodnikov realizes that he has a tough opponent in 30-year-old Algieri, mostly due to his ability to box and move. This isn’t going to be a fight in which Provodnikov can depend on his opponent to meet him in the center of the ring for him to have an easy stationary target like he had in his fights against Mike Alvarado and Tim Bradley. Algieri will be elusive, and will be looking to stay away from Provodnikov all night in their HBO televised fight on Saturday.
“Despite winning the title I still feel like a challenger and I train like one. My job on June 14 is to chase Algieri and hunt him down,” Provodnikov said. “He should be more worried about me. His style of fighting is not my favorite. I prefer an opponent who likes to engage and fight toe-to-toe, not a runner. I don’t have trouble with runners. They have trouble with me. “
The fact of the matter if Provodnikov does have problems with fighters that move, and he doesn’t look good against them. Provodnikov really hasn’t faced a lot of fighters that used movement against him during his career. In fact, he’s only fought three – Bradley, Mauricio Herrera and Alvarado – that used movement against him, and he lost to two of them. Herrera clearly out-boxed Provodnikov in making him look like a limited fighter in their fight in 2011, and Bradley beat Provodnikov by using a mixture of boxing and slugging in their fight in March 2013.
Provodnikov said “I am focusing on a shorter, more prominent career. I only want the big fights. The fights the fans want to see. I want to make an impact and leave. I do not want to outstay my welcome in boxing. Money has never been my primary goal. I want to make the most out of my abilities to be my best in the ring.”
It’s good that Provodnikov won’t be sticking around the sport for too long, as his way of fighting tends to burn out fighters quickly. He’s not been in with a lot of good fighters yet for him to have taken a lot of punishment, but he’ll eventually be meeting up with them in the near future if he can get passed Algieri on Saturday night. Guys like Manny Pacquiao, Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia, and Keith Thurman would give Provodnikov a lot of problems with their power and boxing ability.
“I’m not in awe of fighting Ruslan at all. I’ve watched him fight in the past and I have a very strong game plan to beat him,” Algieri said. “I’ve seen what works against him and just as importantly what doesn’t. Emmanuel Taylor who I beat in February was a hard punching, strong fighter who had knocked out a high number of opponents. I wasn’t supposed to beat him or Jose Peralta. The underdog role fits me perfectly. I was in a couple camps with Marcos Maidana and Brandon Rios, sparring for weeks. Both of them, like Ruslan are aggressive, very strong fighters who I had success against in training.”
Algieri, 5’10”, will have a big 4 inch height advantage to go along with a long 6 inch reach advantage over the 5’6” Provodnikov on Saturday night. The size differences between the two fighters promises to make it a very difficult fight for Provodnikov unless Algieri chooses to just stand in front of him and fight it out in a traditional manner. Don’t count on that happening though because Algieri knows that he doesn’t have the kind of power needed for him to be standing and trading with the Russian fighter.
Algieri said “I know that I can beat Ruslan. Sure many people will be shocked when I win, but not me.”
The tickets for the Provodnikov-Algieri fight go for $31, $56, $86, $106 and $206. They can be bought at Ticketmaster at www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.
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