Bradley-Provodnikov

Bradley’s trainer: We had no options but Provodnikov after we turned down Peterson

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bradley564By Dan Ambrose: Joel Diaz, the trainer for WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s), admits that they might have made a big mistake by turning down the fight offered to them against Lamont Peterson for $2.3 million not long after Bradley pulled an upset win over Manny Pacquiao.

Diaz says they were hoping to get a rematch with Pacquiao or at least a fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, but instead they were only offered a rematch against Peterson, who Bradley easily beat in 2009 by a 12 round unanimous decision. So instead of taking the fight with Peterson, Bradley said no, and then there were no more offers.

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Bradley: I want to make a statement in beating Provodnikov

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bradley123By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) is finally getting around to defending his World Boxing Organization title after sitting around and doing nothing since beating Manny Pacquiao by a controversial 12 round split decision last year in June. Bradley could have fought for good money against Lamont Peterson, but turned down the $2.3 million fight.

Bradley won’t be making nearly as much in his fight against a non-welterweight in 140 lb. contender Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) next month on March 16th at Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA.

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Bradley: We don’t know if Provodnikov is elite or not

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provodnikov2By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) is taking a lot of heat for turning down a fight with Lamont Peterson and instead choosing to fight #2 WBO 140 lb. contender Ruslan Provodnilov (22-1, 15 KO’s) on March 16th in a fight that HBO has agreed to televise at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA.

Bradley said to Radio Raheem “We don’t know if he’s [Provodnikov] an elite fighter because this is the first time he’s fought an elite fighter. I do know he’s rated #2 [at 140], which is a great, great spot for him, and he’s earned this opportunity. He has one loss on his resume, he’s fought great opposition.”

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Bradley: Provodnikov is really going to test me on March 16th

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provodnilov4By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be emerging from 9 long months of inactivity to finally make his first defense of his World Boxing Organization 147 lb title against light welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA.

Why Bradley is facing a light welterweight instead of a welterweight is something only he and his promoter Bob Arum knows, but it’s likely because there aren’t enough Top Rank stable fighters for Bradley to fight at that weight. So instead of fighting the likes Victor Ortiz or Marcos Maidana, Bradley has to settle for a 140 pounder that has mainly been seen by American audiences on ESPN2.

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De La Hoya: Is Bradley-Provodnikov on ESPN?

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provodnikovBy Chris Williams: Earlier today, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions was in the mood to tease Top Rank about matching WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) against Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) on March 16th.

The 29-year-old Provodnikov is known to American boxing fans because of the many occasions his fights have been televised on ESPN rather than the premium cable networks HBO and Showtime. It’s perceived by a lot of boxing fans that the more talented fighters compete on HBO and Showtime.

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Bradley-Provodnikov set for March 16th

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bradley234By Allan Fox: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be facing #2 WBO 140 pound contender Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) on March 16th. This is a fight that Bradley’s promoter Bob Arum liked, and HBO also liked the match-up as well, which is they agreed to televising the fight.

Bradley turned down a fight against Lamont Peterson last December that reportedly would have given him much more than he’s receiving for the Provodnikov bout. Bradley also had a fight against super featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa slip through his fingers due a catchweight problem.

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Provodnikov to be trained by Roach for Bradley fight

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roach4523By Allan Fox: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be facing another Freddie Roach trained fighter when he steps inside the ring for his next fight on March 16th against Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

The 29-year-old Russian born Provodnikov is trained by Freddie Roach, and he’s worked as a sparring partner in the past for Roach’s best fighter Manny Pacquiao. Last June, Bradley faced Pacquiao in Las Vegas, Nevada and ended up beating him a controversial 12 round split decision.

Roach didn’t have much good advice to help Pacquiao in that fight, although Pacquiao looked good enough to deserve the decision. However, Pacquiao has problems with Bradley’s movement, and that enabled Bradley to impress two of the judges to get the decision.

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Tim Bradley – Ruslan Provodnikov finalized for March 16th at Home Depot Center, in Carson, California

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provo1By Chris Williams: The talked about fight between WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) and 140 lb. contender Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) has now been finalized for March 16th, at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, according to Steve Kim. Bradley’s promoter Bob Arum is saying the fight has been finalized.

If you’re a fan of watching the 29-year-old Russian Provodnikov fight on ESPN2 over the years, you’ll be happy that Arum has fought a light welterweight for Bradley to fight on March 16th. However, if you’ve been watching Provodnikov’s fights closely on ESPN, you’ll remember that he was dominated by Mauricio Herrera in a 12 round decision loss in 2011, and you’ll also have seen Provodnikov’s very, very questionable 12 round decision over journeyman DeMarcus Corley in December 2011.

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Tim Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16th

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provodnikov324By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be facing light welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s) on March 16th at a still to be determined venue in the United States, according to ffboxe.com.

This isn’t the big name that the 29-year-old Bradley was hoping to get, as he wanted to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao. But it looks like Bradley’s promoters at Top Rank aren’t taking any chances with him getting beaten by a contender from the welterweight division, so he’s being matched against 140 pound contender.

Bradley’s promoter Bob Arum had been saying that there’s a possibility of Bradley facing a big name on March 16th. I hope Provodnikov isn’t Arum’s idea of a big name because I see him as an ESPN2 type fighter.

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Bradley to fight on December 15th at Madison Square Garden

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Image: Bradley to fight on December 15th at Madison Square GardenBy Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be making his first defense of his World Boxing Organization 147 pound title on December 15th at Madison Square Garden, in New York, New York. There is still no opponent picked out for the fight, but RingTV is reporting that 140 pound contender Ruslan Provodnikov is one of the leading candidates to get the fight.

Provodnikov is ranked #2 by the WBO at light welterweight, but doesn’t have a ranking in the welterweight division and is a very average fighter. It’s starting to become old hat for champions to defend their titles against guys that fight a division below them but who are ranked high by the same sanctioning body.

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