I'm gonna have to go with Provodnikov, a lot of fans on this site only consider superficial attributes such as record, height, reach etc while completely neglecting psychological and experience based factors, for example, in his last fight against Alvarado, Ruslan was walking through Alvarado's punches with a smile on his face until round 6 when Alvarado stunned him with a straight right hand to his solar plexus, Provodnikov stopped smiling and IMMEDIATELY the killer instinct was turned on and he proceeded to brutalize Alvarado with vicious body shots, his punching power and aggression increased exponentially after he was hit hard, that right there shows me that he would retaliate to Matthysse's hard punches with a brutal and vicious attack fueled by his thirst for blood. Don't underestimate Provodnikov's psyche, trust me this guy is a killer for real and if you hit him hard he will retaliate with the intention to destroy and kill you. Provodnikov also has the edge in experience coming into this fight, the fact that he's fought in wars with Bradley and Alvarado and we've seen how bad Bradley was brutalized, he finished the last seconds of their match on his knees on the ground and then straight to the hospital. As far as technicality and skills, a lot of people also underestimate him in those areas without considering the fact that in the last 3 years he's literally spent HUNDREDS of hours in the ring sparring against one of the most quickest and trickiest boxers on the planet in Manny Pacquiao.
have to go with Matthysse. The way to beat Matthysse is to box him like Garcia did. Ruslan would brawl with him and that would be playing right into Matthysse's strength. There is no denying Matthysse's KO power. If Ruslan lets his hand fly and gets tag like he did with Bradley and Alvarado then it will be a KO for Matthysse.
Why don't we ask this question: "Could Mathysse beat Julio Cesar Chavez in his prime?" If there is any doubt in your mind, then forget about Mathysse beating Provodnikov. You see, Provodnikov is not some "Russian Rocky" - he's a born-again Julio Cesar Chavez. And...I thought I would never see any other fighter as bad as Julio Cesar Chavez in my lifetime. I stand amazed.
uh..I'm a Provo fan and I think he might beat everyone at WW if they go toe-to-toe with him but technically wise, Chavez is levels and levels above him