Chris Algieri, the underdog from Huntington, New York, decisioned Ruslan Provodnikov, from Beryozovo, Russia, to win the WBO junior welterweight title?
Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs), the underdog from Huntington, New York, decisioned Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs), aka the Siberian Rocky, from Beryozovo, Russia, to win the WBO junior welterweight title.
Judge Max De Luca, echoing HBO?s unofficial scorecard, had it 117-109 for Provodnikov, while Tom Schreck and Don Trella, who recognize fine boxing when they see it, both scored it 114-112 for Algieri.
Fighting out of the red corner in black trunks with gold trim, Provodnikov was the favorite coming in. His reputation for breaking down opponents preceded him and few imagined this fight, against a light hitter with no amateur experience, would be any different.
But Algieri, fighting out of the blue corner in blue trunks, kept saying that this was going to be his night. He had a handful of believers in his corner. But more important, he had skill, and impeccable ring smarts, which were enough to make Provodnikov look like a crude slugger out of his league.
No sooner had the opening bell sounded than the fight appeared to be a done deal. Algieri was boxing beautifully, using his length and mobility to good effect. But Provodnikov, working with master trainer Freddie Roach, was effectively cutting off the ring. At 1:20 of the first round he caught and dropped the challenger with a left hook to the face. Algieri beat the count but his right eye had begun to swell. At the 0:55 mark, Provodnikov dropped Algieri again, this time from a right hand. He got to his feet and made it through the round, but it looked like it was going to be a short night.
But Algieri turned things around immediately. As Provodnikov stalked Algieri, looking for the shot that would end the fight, the challenger boxed and moved, moved and boxed, relying on lateral movement and a stinging jab to disrupt the champ?s momentum. In round two Algieri landed 24 of 92 punches to Provodnikov?s 11 of 53.
Algieri was sharpshooting in round three. He continued to outland Provodnikov, upstairs and down, 23 to 20, but when the Russian connected he did the most damage. The fight had become, and would continue to be, a style preference contest. Those who like big booming punches would inevitably favor Provodnikov. Those who prefer volume punching and slick boxing had no choice but to go with Algieri.
Provodnikov started the fourth with a right to the body that momentarily took the starch out of Algieri?s sails. The challenger landed a body shot of his own, followed by two hooks. Provodnikov connected with a right to the body and a left to the face. Algieri?s jab was working overtime and continued to disrupt Ruslan?s rhythm. Prov landed another body shot. Algieri?s eye continued to swell. He landed a nice combination, which the champ countered at the bell. It was another close round that could have gone either way. We scored it for the challenger.
The Russian Rocky took round five. His body shots were taking effect. Algieri was slowing down. But he stuck to his game plan, jabbing, moving, making Provodnikov miss when he wasn?t connecting. But the champion smelled blood, Algieri?s blood, which had begun trickling from his nose. The red on his upper lip and his increasingly purple eye were a colorful reminder of the damage Provodnikov was capable of.
The fighters traded winning rounds six through eight. Algieri surged in the sixth. Provonikov, connecting to the body and aiming for Algieri?s rapidly closing eye, won round seven. Boxing like a dream, Algieri, even though he was now bleeding from the mouth, outpunched and outfought Provodnikov to win round eight.
If the fight were to have ended then and there, everyone would have sung Algieri?s praises. He was the underdog coming in. He looked like toast at the end of the first. He was going up against one of boxing?s certifiable forces of nature. But the fight didn?t end there. Algieri wasn?t in there to place second fiddle to Provodnikov?s concert master. He wasn?t content to just look good. He wanted to win.
Algieri took the ninth with his superior ring generalship. Provodnikov had his moments. He handed a combination to the body. Algieri countered with a combination to the head. Provodnikov continued to press the action, but his frustration had grown palpable. Whenever he crowded the challenger, he was met by a jab, or multiple jabs, that got him off his game. It?s hard to hit a moving target, and ever harder to hit a moving target that is hitting back. Algieri was winning the fight on our scorecard, but it was unfathomable that the judges?especially with HBO?s biased cheerleading in the background?would ever rule in his favor.
After nine rounds of action, according to CompuBox, Algieri had landed 230 punches to Provodnikov?s 151.
Algieri won rounds 10 and 11. He was getting off first. He was landing more. His punches, while never enough to drop Provodnikov, were enough to give him second thoughts, followed by third, fourth and fifth thoughts. No man, not even a man who eats raw moose liver for strength, gets much satisfaction from eating punches. Algieri was in control of the fight and he knew it. His face may have looked like roadkill, but there were no mirrors in the corner to dissuade him from continuing. The ringside physician was carefully watching the challenger?s right eye, which was all but swollen shut,, but decided to not spoil things but getting in the way.
Provodnikov won the 12th and final round. Using the same hardboiled intensity that enabled him to hospitalize Timothy Bradley and win the title from Mike Alvarado last year, Provodnikov engaged in a game of Ruslan Roulette by letting his hands go and going for broke. He landed jabs to the head, more shots to the body, and pinned Algieri to the ropes with a four-punch combination. But as little quit as there was in Provodnikov, there was as little quit in Algieri, who was firing off punches at the bell to end the round and the fight.
It took a long time, a very long time for the judges to tally the scorecards. Few of the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home believed that Algieri would get the decision. Facial recognition software would have had trouble recognizing the challenger, but the judges, or two of three judges, didn?t let appearances corrupt the proper conclusion.
