Mike Alvarado vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
This Saturday night HBO plans to debut a documentary Legendary Nights: The Tale of Gatti-Ward and the network couldn't have picked a better night. That is because before the documentary two men will step into the ring in Denver, Colorado and go to war. Those two men are "Mile High" Mike Alvarado and "The Siberian Rocky" Ruslan Provodnikov and they will square off in a 12 round fight for the junior welterweight title.
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| Can Alvarado go to war again? |
Alvarado has to be one of the bravest fighters in the sport. His last two fights came against slugger Brandon Rios whom he went 1-1 against. To follow up two of the most brutal fights of all time Alvarado all but assured he would be in another one by agreeing to fight Provodnikov. In Alvarado's second fight against Rios he focused more on boxing and was able to move around the ring much quicker and with better purpose. Using the same strategy against Provodnikov could pay off huge. Alvarado has a career record of 34-1 with 23 knockouts and a win against Provodnikov should earn him a big money fight.
Alvarado's style is pretty simple, he comes forward and loves to fight on the inside. However he also seems to realize he can't spend entire fights just standing and trading punches so his movement will be key come Saturday night. Both fighters have good chins but Alvarado has been stopped before while Provodnikov has never been knocked out. If Provodnikov is able to hurt Alvarado expect him to try to end the fight early.
Provodnikov's last fight was also a very memorable one. He fought Timothy Bradley in an all out war that saw him hurt Bradley on numerous occasions but was unable to stop him. In the middle rounds Bradley used more defense and boxing instead of just trading punches and was able to frustrate Provodnikov and land some good punches. In the 12th round Bradley had to take a knee because of Provodnikov's relentless attack but Bradley was able to eek out a unanimous decision victory in a fight many people scored for Provodnikov.
Provodnikov has a career record of 22-2 with 15 knockouts with both losses being highly disputable. Much like Alvarado, Provodnikov has a simple fighting style. He comes forward constantly and cuts off the ring very well allowing him to keep his opponent against the ropes or in the corner. Provodnikov isn't the busiest fighter and likes to wait for the perfect time to unleash his heavy blows. However when he feels he has his man hurt he will throw punches in bunches and look for the knockout. Provodnikov has the better chin between the two men but it hasn't been tested like Alvarado's has, which should make this fight even more interesting.
This fight is guaranteed to be all action because both fighters just can't stop themselves from going toe to toe. Both fighters have already been involved with Fight of the Year candidates, Alvarado's fight against Rios and Provodnikov's fight against Bradley, and this fight could easily find its way onto the list. Alvarado has slightly better boxing skills and he will need to use those skills to avoid the heavy hands of Provodnikov. As far as who has the better punching power it is really a toss up and big time boxing fans will find out soon enough. If this fight goes the distance expect both fighters to take an unreal amount of punishment and show a tremendous amount of heart. However long this fight last, one thing is for sure, fans will be witnessing something special.
PREDICTION: Mike Alvarado will do his best to box instead of slug but Ruslan Provodnikov will do a great job of cutting off the ring and force Alvarado to fight a phone booth style bout. Provodnikov will get a big win by the way of 10th round stoppage.
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| Provodnikov badly hurt Bradley a few times |
Provodnikov has a career record of 22-2 with 15 knockouts with both losses being highly disputable. Much like Alvarado, Provodnikov has a simple fighting style. He comes forward constantly and cuts off the ring very well allowing him to keep his opponent against the ropes or in the corner. Provodnikov isn't the busiest fighter and likes to wait for the perfect time to unleash his heavy blows. However when he feels he has his man hurt he will throw punches in bunches and look for the knockout. Provodnikov has the better chin between the two men but it hasn't been tested like Alvarado's has, which should make this fight even more interesting.
This fight is guaranteed to be all action because both fighters just can't stop themselves from going toe to toe. Both fighters have already been involved with Fight of the Year candidates, Alvarado's fight against Rios and Provodnikov's fight against Bradley, and this fight could easily find its way onto the list. Alvarado has slightly better boxing skills and he will need to use those skills to avoid the heavy hands of Provodnikov. As far as who has the better punching power it is really a toss up and big time boxing fans will find out soon enough. If this fight goes the distance expect both fighters to take an unreal amount of punishment and show a tremendous amount of heart. However long this fight last, one thing is for sure, fans will be witnessing something special.
PREDICTION: Mike Alvarado will do his best to box instead of slug but Ruslan Provodnikov will do a great job of cutting off the ring and force Alvarado to fight a phone booth style bout. Provodnikov will get a big win by the way of 10th round stoppage.
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