Ruslan Provodnikov, the Russian boxer who had an epic battle with Timothy Bradley in March, said he watched Saturday?s fight between the Desert Storm and Juan Manuel Marquez and was surprised by one thing ? the judge?s scorecard.
Bradley scored a split-decision victory over Marquez on Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, and Provodnikov didn?t think the fight was that close. Provodnikov felt Bradley was able to box and control the fight against Marquez and won clearly.
?I think that was the mistake Marquez made, he thought he could beat him in boxing,? Provodnikov said through a translator Monday during a conference call to promote his fight against Mike Alvarado on Saturday. ?I believe Timothy Bradley fought the way he fought was because Juan Manuel Marquez let him fight that way. You cannot beat Timothy Bradley in boxing. You have to break him, you have to pressure him. You have to break him down, inside and outside, and break him down in the body. That?s the only way you can beat that guy. You cannot box him.?
Unlike Marquez, Provodnikov was able to get to Bradley and dish out punishment in their March 16 fight. Bradley said he suffered a concussion in the first round when Provodnikov connected on a right. A few times, Bradley appeared out on his feet, and in the closing seconds, Provodnikov scored a knockdown.
?He recovered well from that Ruslan fight,? Alvarado said. ?He just fought the wrong fight against Provodnikov. I think he went in there thinking he would walk through him or something. He fought a whole different fight.?
Because of the punishment Bradley incurred, Marquez was the slight favorite. No one knew how Bradley would be able to recover from the Provodnikov fight. But Provodnikov said he had no doubts Bradley would perform well.
?I saw what I expected to see,? Provodnikov said. ?Marquez said before he was going to finish him after Ruslan. Knowing the type of fighter Timothy Bradley is, and the type of warrior he is, I never believed that he would finish him off. I knew he is a warrior and he was going to come in and fight.?
