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Pinoy trainer Marvin Somodio and Ruslan Provodnikov are ready for the big task ahead of them By Rich Mazon PhilBoxing.com Fri, 18 Oct 2013  After the dominating win of Miguel Cotto two weeks ago, another star boxer from the Wild Card Gym of Hollywood is bound for another headliner this weekend. Ruslan ?The Siberian Rocky? Provodnikov will battle WBO junior welterweight champ, Mike ?Mile High? Alvarado in the latter?s home turf of Denver, Colorado in a bout carried live by HBO this Saturday night. And while the rest of the team that helped Cotto regain his winning form is with Provodnikov in Denver in these last two weeks, head trainer Freddie Roach is still doubtful to be in the Russian slugger?s corner this Saturday. Roach is currently training star pupil, Manny Pacquiao in General Santos City in the Philippines. Roach who arrived there Thursday of last week was unable to join Provodnikov and the rest of the team who proceeded to Denver from Orlando, Florida after the Cotto fight. According to reliable sources, the Hall of Famer is still unsure of joining Provodnikov in Denver. Roach left the big task of training his boxer in the hands of his Filipino assistant, Marvin Somodio, who has been the famed trainer?s right hand man since last year. Somodio has been officially involved with the training of Roach?s stable of fighters, both superstars and prospects, in the last year and a half. He moved to Los Angeles with the help of Roach and Pacquiao in May 2012, after helping the duo in camps held at the Shape-Up Gym in Baguio City dating back in 2009. The 29 year old trainer together with Conditioning Coach Gavin Macmillan have been encamped in Mile High City, the Monday after the Cotto fight, acclimating with the punishing high altitude that the city is known for. Somodio believed that their two weeks stay in Denver would be enough for Provodnikov to adjust to the climate, the weather and the altitude when he steps in the ring of the 1STBANK Center this Saturday night(Sunday morning in the Philippines). ?Mabigat na assignment ito, pero kakayanin natin.? (This is a big assignment, and I will try my best to handle it.) Somodio told Philboxing.com the night after Cotto?s victory. It was then that he informed us that he will be handling Provodnikov?s training from then on, alongside MacMillan. Somodio expressed confidence in Provodnikov, a tough welterweight who gave WBO welterweight champ, Tim Bradley, a tough fight when they met earlier this year. He met Provodnikov in Baguio City when Roach brought him to spar with Pacquiao last year. He has been in Provodnikov?s team since, starting with the Jose Reynoso knockout victory last year in nearby Corona, California. ?I am confident for this fight. Madami na din ako experience sa corner. (I have garnered plenty of experience in the corner.) And actually, Ruslan was my first fighter whom I have worked with here in the U.S,? said Somodio. Provodnikov and Somodio have been continuing the two month camp that Roach had started in the confines of the Wild Card and Team Provodnikov praised the Filipino trainer?s professionalism and knowledge of the game. ?He is a great trainer. He is one of the best in the business,? Provodnikov?s manager, Vadim Kornilov told Philboxing.com. Kornilov added that Team Provodnikov is comfortable and confident with the young trainer in their team and in their corner come fight night. Provodnikov and Somodio have always worked well as a team since they met in 2012 according to him. ?He is not new. He has been helping with Freddie for almost two years now and has always helped Ruslan also,? said Kornilov. ?They are good friends and they have a great relationship in the gym.? Somodio on his part expressed that he is just continuing what Roach has started for Provodnikov. He is convinced that their game plan and days spent in training will be instrumental when they meet Alvarado. Roach after the Cotto bout, left him this words. ?Take care of Ruslan. You know what to do, you know your job.? And it also helps that Somodio has a boxer who epitomizes a ?No Retreat, No Surrender? attitude and persona in the ring. ?Itataya niya pati buhay niya dito para lang manalo sa laban na ito. At may tiwala siya sa training.? (He will gamble his life just to win this fight. And he has trust in us and in our training of him.) said Somodio who admitted that Provodnikov is probably the strongest puncher he has trained. ?Ang bigat ng kamay. Sa mga body shots na natangap ko, siya yata ang pinaka-malakas na boxer na nahawakan ko.? (His hands are heavy. With the body shots that I received from him, he may be the strongest boxer that I have worked with.) ?Si Miguel (Cotto) pala malakas din, pero mas malaki ang timbang.? (Miguel Cotto also hits hard, but he is a bigger fighter.) added Somodio. Somodio has been blessed with the opportunity to work with one of the best trainers in the sport in Freddie Roach, something that he did not see coming in his days as a trainer and fitness instructor in Baguio City not too long ago. Now, behind a real life ?Rocky? in Provodnikov, both boxer and trainer are ready to take the limelight in the sport that they both love. You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and on Twitter @Freemazon910. Photo: Somodio (L) doing the mitts with Provodnikov at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .  |
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