By Chris Williams: According to Steve Kim, Banner Promotions, the promoters for Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KO’s), have filed a protest to the World Boxing Organization and presumably the California State Athletic Commission to get an immediate rematch against WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (30-0, 12 KO’s) after losing by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
The reason for the protest is pretty obvious. Provodnikov badly hurt Bradley in the 1st round and knocked him down, but wasn’t given credit for the knockdown, as the referee ruled it a slip. Bradley was clearly hurt, and when he attempted to get back up, he back down again.
In the 2nd round, Bradley was hit with a huge right hand from Provodnikov that sent Bradley falling backwards against the ropes. It looked like the ropes stopped Bradley from falling his back, and normally an alert referee will rule that a knockdown. As it was, Bradley was staggering around the ring during the 2nd round and taking vicious punishment.
Even without Bradley falling against the ropes, you can make a strong case that the 2nd round should have been a 10-8 round. In the 6th, Bradley was once against staggered and falling against the ropes as he was out on his feet. As hurt as Bradley was, it was surprising that it wasn’t scored a 10-8 round.
The final judges’ scores were 115-112, 114-113, and 114-113. As you can see if Provodnikov was given credit for 10-8 rounds in the 1st, 2nd and 6th rounds, he would have won the fight. If he was given credit for a 10-8 round in just one of those rounds, the fight would have been ruled a draw and we might be seeing a rematch under those conditions.
I doubt Bradley would give Provodnikov a rematch if the fight were ruled a draw, but at least there would be pressure from boxing fans on him to fight him again.
It would be surprising if the Commission and sanctioning bodies do request for Bradley to give Provodnikov a rematch. I can’t see it happening, but I bet Bradley’s promoter Bob Arum won’t be happy if that’s what happens because he’s going to move Bradley forward to fights against his Top Rank fighters, and he’s not going to want Bradley being tied down facing a Banner Promotions guy like Provodnikov that could potentially ruin his unbeaten record in a second fight.
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