It hasn?t received anywhere near the amount of attention Mayweather-Pacquiao has attracted, but the Lucas Matthysse-Ruslan Provodnikov fight scheduled for Saturday night should at the very least emerge as a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Argentina?s Matthysse (36-3, 34 KOs, 1 NC) is one of boxing?s most punishing punchers, a relentless stalker who has knocked out 87 percent of his opponents. Provodnikov (24-3, 17 KOs) is a rugged Russian who?s never been knocked out and often breaks the spirit of his opponents.
Something must give when they square off in a 12-round junior welterweight fight HBO will televise from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y. Artie Pelullo, Provodnikov?s promoter, went as far as to say he expects Matthysse-Provodnikov to evoke memories of Corrales-Castillo.
The May 2005 bout between the late Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo is regarded as one of the greatest action fights in boxing history. While that?s an extremely high expectation, everyone involved in making Matthysse-Provodnikov happen anticipates a very memorable bout.
“These are the fights the fans deserve,” said Oscar De La Hoya, whose company promotes Matthysse. “I have a good hunch that this fight might be the fight of the year.”
HBO?s split-site telecast will start at 9:45 p.m. Saturday with a 12-round bout between Terence Crawford and Thomas Dulorme from the University of Texas at Arlington?s College Park Center. They?ll fight for the vacant WBO junior welterweight title. Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs), of Omaha, Neb., is a former WBO lightweight champion who has moved up to 140 pounds and is one of the sport?s fastest-rising stars. Puerto Rico?s Dulorme (22-1, 14 KOs) has won six straight fights since his lone defeat, a seventh-round technical knockout by Argentina?s Carlos Abregu (36-2, 29 KOs) in October 2012.
CANELO-COTTO: HBO Sports president Ken Hershman expects Miguel Cotto?s June 6 fight against Australia?s Daniel Geale at Brooklyn?s Barclays Center, which was officially announced at a news conference Thursday, to lead to a much more appealing Canelo Alvarez-Cotto clash later this year.
Negotiations for a scrapped May 2 bout between Alvarez and Cotto broke down in January because Cotto hadn?t signed a contract. Alvarez instead agreed to fight powerful southpaw James Kirkland on May 9 in Houston.
But if Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) overcomes Kirkland (32-1, 28 KOs) and Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) makes a successful defense of his WBC middleweight title against Geale (44-1-1, 31 KOs), Hershman sees no reason Alvarez-Cotto shouldn?t occur next.
“That?s the fight everybody wants to see and that?s the fight we want,” said Hershman, whose network will televise the Alvarez-Kirkland and Cotto-Geale fights. “Neither guy has a walkover, so they have to get to through those fights. But if they do, then we expect to be doing that fight in the fall.”
PATH OF KHAN: Amir Khan has drawn the ire of British boxing fans who want nothing more than for Khan to face fellow English welterweight Kell Brook (34-0, 23 KOs), who owns the IBF 147-pound championship.
Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) instead will box Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs), the Huntington, N.Y., native Manny Pacquiao dominated during a lopsided, 12-round win Nov. 22 in Macau, China. The Khan-Algieri fight has been scheduled for May 29 at Barclays Center.
