Ruslan Provodnikov

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

by

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.

read more

Tim Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16th

by

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.

read more

HBO happy to televise Bradley-Provodnikov bout if fight gets made

by

Image: HBO happy to televise Bradley-Provodnikov bout if fight gets madeBy Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) was hoping that his first title defense of his World Boxing Organization crown would be a big paying return bout against Manny Pacquiao, but that idea went up in smoke when Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum decided to match his little cash cow Pacquiao back up with Juan Manuel Marquez in a fourth fight between them that would make more money than a Pacquiao-Bradley rematch.

With Pacquiao off the table, Bradley is now left with the following choices for his next fight on December 15th: Ruslan Provodnikov, Robert Guerrero and Lamont Peterson. Guerrero, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, is still in the running for the Bradley fight but it’s still unclear whether the two promotional companies will be able to put this fight together or not by December 15th. One fighter that will be easy to make for Bradley is the 28-year-old Russian born Provodnikov.

read more

Provodnikov and Peterson options for Bradley if Guerrero fight can’t be made

by

Image: Provodnikov and Peterson options for Bradley if Guerrero fight can't be madeBy Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley and WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero are in negotiations for a fight that will take place on December 15th. Bradley’s manager Cameron Dunkin is saying that if the Guerrero fight can’t get made, then the options will be down to Lamont Peterson and Ruslan Provodnikov, both lighter welterweights.

Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz sees a fight against the 29-year-old Guerrero as a backwards step in Bradley’s career for some reason. Speaking with mydesert.com, Diaz said “It’s not a fight for Tim, it’s a fight for Robert. Instead of moving forward after being on that stage a couple of months ago, we’re taking a step back fighting Robert Guerrero.”

read more

Arum has four candidates for Bradley’s next fight: Guerrero, Peterson, Berto & Provodnikov

by

Image: Arum has four candidates for Bradley's next fight: Guerrero, Peterson, Berto & ProvodnikovBy Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is looking at four possible opponents to put in with his fighter WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley for his December 15th fight. These are the names that Arum is supposedly looking at: Robert Guerrero, Ruslan Provodnikov, Lamont Peterson and Andre Berto.

Let’s be honest about this. There’s really only two of those guys – Provodnikov and Guerrero – who are in the running for the Bradley fight, because Berto is likely to fight IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage next, and Lamont Peterson and Zab Judah are almost surely going to be fighting next. One theory for why Arum could be including Berto and Peterson’s name to get an opponent for Bradley to take less than what they might be asking for if they realized that there only two real options for Bradley. It’s really one, because who wants to see Bradley fight Provodnikov? Yeah, if they stick the fight on ESPN, I’m all for it, but to have Bradley fight Provodnikov on HBO, no thanks.

read more

Arum considering Brook, Peterson, Guerrero and Provodnikov as potential opponents for Bradley’s next fight

by

Image: Arum considering Brook, Peterson, Guerrero and Provodnikov as potential opponents for Bradley's next fightBy Allan Fox: Bob Arum has four possible opponents that he’s picking from for his fighter WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley’s first defense of his title on December 15th. Lamont Peterson and Ruslan Provodnikov’s names have already been mentioned as potential options for Bradley. But now ESPN is reporting that unbeaten welterweight contender Kell Brook and WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero are also among the fighters that are being considered.

Bradley has already beaten Peterson in December 2009, so it’s not exactly an exciting option. However, Peterson has picked up the IBF light welterweight title, which obviously wouldn’t be on the line for the fight with Bradley because it would be for Bradley’s World Boxing Organization 147 pound title. Peterson defeated Amir Khan last December, and he’s now looked at a lot differently than before.

read more