By Dan Ambrose: Dan Rafael of ESPN is reporting that WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KO’s) will be receiving $750,000 for his title defense tonight against fringe contender Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO’s) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Algieri will be getting a mere $100,000 as the challenger.
In the co-feature, WBO light middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (20-0, 13 KO’s) will be getting $200,000 in his fight against British challenger Brian Rose (25-1-1, 7 KO’s). For his part, Rose will be getting $100,000, which is the exact same amount as Algieri is getting in the main event. It doesn’t make much sense for Algieri and Rose to be getting the same amount when one of them is in the main even and the other on undercard.
It’s easy to see why Provodnikov wants to get a fight against Manny Pacquiao so badly. If he can win tonight and look good against Algieri, Provodnikov could make as much as $5 million in a fight against Pacquiao. That money would go far in Beryozovo, Russia, which is where Provodnikov lives.
Tonight’s Provodnikov-Algieri fight is about trying to turn Provodnikov into a star. They’ve picked out a fringe contender for him to fight instead of throwing him in with someone that would give him a lot of problems like Mauricio Herrera or Lucas Matthysse, and he’s matched against a fighter without much power in Algieri. It’s a perfect fight for Provodnikov to look good in. His trainer Freddie Roach will look brilliant after he takes care of business against Algieir, and the casual fans will likely get on the Provodnikov express after this fight.
Algieri is still someone who could cause an upset tonight if he gets his jab going. He’s like a jabbing machine, and he could end up distorting Provodnikov’s feature if he’s unable to get to him to score a knockout early in this fight. Algieri has a 6″ reach advantage over Provodnikov, and if he’s able to use that reach effectively then we could see him jabbing Provodnikov silly.
Roach will need to come up with something if Provodnikov starts cutting up and losing vision from the swelling and blood. About the best Roach can probably come up with is to attack even harder, but that might not work either. If it looks like it’s not going to happen, Roach would be doing Provodnikov a big favor by stopping the fight to save him from taking needless punishment. He took a beating in his loss to Mauricio Herrera three years ago, and he doesn’t need another one.
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