In what will probably be a candidate for ‘Fight of the Year,’ Timothy Bradley retained his WBO Welterweight title and improved to 30-0 with 12 knockouts while Ruslan Provodnikov, whose stocks surges after last night’s performance, fell to 22-2 with 15 knockouts.
The Correct Verdict While some are protesting the decision, Bradley’s higher activity level via fluid combinations, plus the fact he outlanded Ruslan in powershots (non jabs) and overall punches, made the difference.
According to PunchStats, Bradley landed 129 more punches and 32 more powershots. And nearly universally, Ruslan won only one round in an 8 round stretch (Rounds 3-10) so heading into Round 11 the Russian needed to do something extraordinary to win or draw… And he came ever so close.
The judges had it for “Desert Storm” 115-112, 114-113, 114-113. ESPN.com and FightSaga also scored it for Bradley 114-112 and 114-113, respectively.
Also, HBO’s unofficial scorer, Harold Lederman, who awarded Bradley only one round (of twelve) against Manny Pacquiao last June, scored this bout in Bradley’s favor 115-112.
Timothy Bradley vs Ruslan Provodnikov marked the first time Timothy Bradley had fought in nearly 9 months, when he was awarded the belt via that now-infamous decision. Many were curious as to how Tim would perform given the criticism and public scrutiny that surrounded the verdict of Pacquiao vs Bradley.
Amazingly, the 5’6″ Bradley claims to have blown up to 185 lbs in between fights.
Was ‘Desert Storm’ sluggish or is Ruslan Provodnikov that good?
Regardless, Bradley and Provodnikov undoubtedly increased their fan-bases and marquee value last night.
“I think I got a concussion,” Bradley said moments after the decision was announced. “I know I do. This guy is a power puncher, a great warrior. I take my hat off to him. He’ll beat any 140- or 147-pounder out there. He’s the real deal.”
Joel Diaz, Bradley’s trainer, told The Boxing Channel afterwards they’d strategized on a plan to outbox and out-finesse the slower, flat-footed Provodnikov but maintained he had a feeling Tim would abandon that strategy.
“I knew he (Bradley) had other plans of his own… because of what happened in the controversial (Pacquiao) fight.”
“He wanted to show the world he has heart and determination to fight toe-to-toe and doesn’t have to move.”
The trainer added, “He got hurt every single round but he came back and still fought. He had a lot of heart in there.”
During the fight Ruslan’s trainer, Freddie Roach, told HBO he was close to stopping the bout because Bradley was pulling away and his fighter appeared to be taking an unnecessary beating. However, after the bout Diaz also conceded he considered stopping the fight as well.
“There was a point in the fight where he came to the corner and was dazed. But I asked him a couple of questions and he answered correctly so I told him ‘OK show me you’re OK’ and he did. He happened to get in there and box around (effectively) using angles.”
When Timothy Bradley boxed and fired combinations from angles, he was able to land thudding body shots and crisp shots to the head. As long as Bradley moved, he did well. He didn’t have to run so long as he kept the jab in Ruslan’s face and used his superior upper body movement and footwork.
However, when Tim was a stationary target he was vulnerable to Ruslan’s arsenal, particularly the right hand which the Russian timed extemely well. Also, when Tim got brave and elected to plant his feet and engage in toe-to-toe fisticuffs he found himself hurt on numerous occasions, and sometimes in serious trouble.
The toe-to-toe, back-and-forth volley of punches with bad intentions provided high-drama and earned Timothy Bradley a lot of respect but the American paid a price and was seemingly nearly stopped on several occasions.
And while Tim’s punches caused cosmetic damage to Provodnikov’s face, he never appeared to put the Russian in serious hurt. Bloodied and bruised, the Russian kept coming, despite absorbing some hellacious body shots. Credit to both men for enduring wicked shots and fighting back with a vengeance.
Bradley Believes in His Power Timothy Bradley believes in his power, telling FightSaga last year, “I got power. I don’t have one-punch knockout power – But if I didn’t have any kind of power then these guys would just be walking straight through me. But the fact [is] that these guys start holding me and start looking for a way out.”
He was also quick to add, “I’m not feather-fisted like Paul Malignaggi, I’m nowhere near that.”
And while Bradley may have the power to momentarily stun an opponent, he doesn’t appear to have the ability to put a “durable” opponent in serious trouble with one, two or three hard shots. As a result, ‘mano y mano’ exchanges with harder-punching foes are not to Tim’s benefit.
In one of FightSaga’s fight previews for Bradley vs Provodnikov, we insisted, “The Russian must try to corner Bradley on the ropes to take away, or at least impede, the American’s movement. His goal should be to lure Bradley into to toe-to-toe exchanges and make Bradley vs Provodnikov an all-out war.”
And an all-out war is exactly what transpired yet a hurt Bradley was able to dig deep enough to thwart the efforts of Ruslan Provodnikov, a super strong, hard-punching brawler who is seemingly a threat to anyone in the division and will undoubtedly be in more high-profile showdowns.
In a Bradley vs Provodnikov rematch, look for Bradley to fight in a more disciplined style… But some brawlers, like Ruslan, can’t be out-finessed entirely so there will be spots where Timothy Bradley will have to stand and exchange.
Bradley vs Provodnikov 2 anyone?
