Ruslan Provodnikov calls a potential 140-pound clash with Lucas Matthysse ?a 50/50-fight.?
?This is the type of fight that excites me. I think that this is a 50/50 fight,? said Provodnikov, 31, who landed in Los Angeles on Sunday night to begin training with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. ?It?s the type of fight that I really like. I know that when I?m in this type of a fight, only one of us will walk out of the ring.?
Talks are ongoing for a March 28 junior welterweight bout between RING No. 4-rated junior welterweight Provodnikov (24-3, 17 knockouts) and No. 1 Matthysse (36-3, 34 KOs) at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., according to Provodnikov?s promoter, Artie Pelullo of Banner Promotions.
?I was the first one to ask for this fight and I?ve been waiting for this fight,? said Provodnikov. ?I really wanted my team to make this fight possible, so I will be very happy if this happens because it?s the fight that I?ve been waiting for.?
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya, who recently signed Matthysse to a five-year extension, characterized the clash with Provodnikov as ?one of those ?Fight of the Year? candidates.? Golden Boy Vice President Eric Gomez has also been involved in the discussion, Pelullo said.
?I will know by the end of the week,? said manager Vadim Kornilov, who served as Provodnikov?s translator. ?The fight is pretty likely but right now, we?re still figuring it out.?
A former WBO 140-pound titleholder nicknamed ?The Siberian Rocky,? Provodnikov is coming off a fifth-round knockout over former RING lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo last November.
?This is like the fight that I had with [Mike] Alvarado; this is the type of fight that I had with [Tim] Bradley,? said Provodnikov. ?This is pretty much a fight with two guys with character. Whoever is more prepared and mentally more ready and physically more ready is going to be the guy who wins this fight.?
Nicknamed ?La M?quina? or ?The Machine,? Matthysse, 32, has scored consecutive stoppages in the 11th and second rounds over John Molina last April and previously unbeaten Roberto Ortiz last September.
?The first advantage is not specifically technical ability,? said Provodnikov, ?but it?s character. Character, as well as the will to win, is what is going to be the difference in this fight.?
