Fight Preview (March 16th)

Timothy Bradley vs. Ruslan Provodnikov

Saturday nights main event will be between the infamous Timothy Bradley and the hellacious body puncher Ruslan Provodnikov for Bradley's welterweight title.  On paper it looks like a fight that should be a win for Bradley, but body punchers like Provodnikov are always dangerous, especially ones with nothing to lose.  Provodnikov may have nothing to lose but Bradley has a lot to prove.

When big time boxing fans last saw Bradley he was raising his hands in victory.  He had just won the biggest fight of his career against the legendary Manny Pacquiao, unfortunately for Bradley, everyone watching the fight thought he lost.  The only people in the world who thought Bradley won, besides Bradley and his team, were the three judges sitting ringside.  Although it was a closer fight then some would have you believe, it wasn't close enought that Bradley should have been gifted the victory. 

Now fans are holding that win against him, even though all he did was bust his ass and fight a good clean fight.  Bradley is one of the best fighters in the world ranked #8 in the top 10 p4p rankings, but most casual fans only know him as the fighter who robbed Pacquiao, instead of the man who beat Kendall Holt, Lamont Peterson, Luis Carlos Abregu, and Devon Alexander.  He has a perfect record of 29-0 with 12 knockouts.  He isn't a big puncher and usually beats his opponent by simply outworking them.  Bradley is one of the hardest working men inside the ring.  The downside of this fight for Bradley is that beating Provodnikov won't help raise his profile in the aftermath of the Pacquiao debacle.

For Provodnikov this fight is everything.  If he were to beat Bradley he would win a title belt and immediately jump up the welterweight ranks and be in line for many big name fights.  Fans who are aware of Provodnikov have probably seen him on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, where he has fought several times.  His most notable wins have come against DeMarcus 'Chop Chop' Corley and his 2nd round knockout of Jose Reynoso.  His record is 22-1 with 15 knockouts.  Much like Bradley, he isn't the biggest puncher but throws his punches in volumes, and is a hellacious body puncher.  Against Bradley he will be outclassed by a wide margin, but when a fighter is outclassed or outsized, his greatest weapon is the body punch.  Body punches are the great equalizer in the sport of boxing.  Provodnikov will need to keep the fight on the inside and avoid the head of Bradley if he hopes to win.

This fight is all about storylines.  Will Bradley be able to stay undefeated and earn back some of the fans he lost in his Pacquiao fight or will Provodnikov score the biggest win of his career and a huge upset?  Bradley should be able to stick and move when needed and also fight on the inside if it calls for it.  But a man with nothing to lose and dangerous body punches can't be taken lightly, so Provodnikov has a chance for glory.  Expect to see non stop action and a lot of hard work.

PREDICTION:  Tim Bradley wins a unanimous decision in a much closer fight then most people expect. 

Jessie Vargas vs. Wale Omotoso

The first fight of the night is a very intriguing one.  It will pit two young undefeated fighters against each other; Jessie Vargas and Wale Omotoso.  It will also showcase the boxing skills of Vargas against the power of Omotoso.

Vargas is the younger of the two at 23 years old.  This will be his first high profile fight and first time on HBO.  His record is 21-0 with a weak 9 knockouts.  He isn't a big puncher but instead uses his boxing skills and movement to win fights.  His only previous fights worth mentioning are a win against the faded Steve Forbes, and Josesito Lopez which came in a controversial split decision.

Omotoso is still young at 27 years old, but needs to start faceing bigger name fighters if he wants to rise in the welterweight rankings.  Most of his career was spent fighting in Australia but his last six fights have come in the United States.  Just like Vargas this will be Omotoso's highest profile fight.  His record is 23-0 with a very strong 19 knockouts, for a 79% knockout rate.  He has had some 10 and 12 round fights in Australia, but of his six fights in the U.S. only one has been 10 rounds, all the others were 8 round fights.  He will be looking for an early knockout in this fight.

If Vargas shows a strong chin and can take Omotoso deep he has a good chance of winning.  He will move around the ring with ease and make it hard for Omotoso to get inside and land heavy punches.  For his part, Omotoso will look to get Vargas on the ropes and throw big power punches to end the fight early.  If he can catch up to Vargas this could be an early night.

PREDICTION:  Wale Omotoso will get his biggest win so far by the way of 8th round knockout.