Ruslan Provodnikov Vs. Devon Alexander

Alexander vs. Bailey is going to be hard for a lot of people to shake any time soon. That was dreadful.

 

Look at his last 7 fights not a soft fight in the bunch.

 

A number of guys at 140/147 beat Ruslan convincingly, Alexander included. I think Provodnikov is a one dimensional pressure fighter, like Rios, and it'll show in his next few fights. Bradley just fought like a hard headed, stubborn idiot trying to prove something that night, and he almost paid the price for it... it was great for fight fans but he could have won so much easier by simply boxing and spoiling, in my opinion. Alexander wouldn't be afraid to do that, as he proved against Maidana.

 

He is a bit more versatile than Rios, actually.

 

Eh, a bit more I guess... still pretty one dimensional though as far as I can see. I dunno, maybe he turns out to be a mini Frazier or the next Chavez Snr or something, and proves me wrong :conf

He's definitely exciting to watch, I'll give him that :yep

 

Alexander won't engage like Bradley did. He would move and stay on the outside. Alexander UD

 

Nah the only really entertaining fight he's been in was against Matthysse and that's because he was getting beaten up in most of the rounds. He held all night against Maidana and tried the same dumb ineffective combinations again and again vs. Kotelnik. And it was largely Alexander's fault the fight with Bradley fought since Tim was the one coming forward the entire night.

 

He'd bring back mathysse nightmares he once had had.Styles makes fights & Ruslan poses a huge threat.Alexander hangs for dear life likely gets tko'd late.This aint the 140lb brawling version maidana.Marcos has improved since then after hiring garcia has grown into full 147lb developing his skill(obviously not same maidana but credit to devon).Ruslan late tko or devon folds like vs timmy.

 

His clinch is atually a big reason he wins fights, he throws a flurry then ties you up and you completely lose your rhythm
He would UD Provodnikov easy, wouldnt look anything like the Bradley fight

 

I don't see that at all Alexander at 147 is much stronger hope there is a rematch with Mathysse it will set the record straight.

 

exactly and I've seen both fighters plenty. Ruslan used to fight on FNF all the time and a lot of people saw him for the first time vs Bradley. Timmy made him look better than he really is

 

Oh Lucas will set the record straight alright,don't expect judges to give Alexander the nod this time around Matthysse won't allow it.I admit devon might even be slightly up when he gets stopped like peterson.Ruslan/guerrero will probably beat devon before Lucas comes up.

 

Matthysse May be a little overrated 147 is a different ballgame.

 

Pretty much agree. When Bradley stayed outside, he scored at will. Devon will stay outside.

 

It was a bit from column A there (Bradley fighting down to his level on a macho trip and to prove something to himself and the doubters & naysayers in the Pac aftermath) but also I think a bit from column B: Provodnikov putting on the fight of his life. I watched his entire ESPN2 run like you, from his TV debut in 2008 through his gradual climb to mid-card and then headline status on Friday nights, and had reached the same conclusion of that pretty much being his ceiling. I figured the best W's on his resume would end up being guys like Ji Hoon Kim or at best Hank Lundy. I was surprised by his performance against Bradley. It wasn't so much that anything was different, but it was all his positive qualities distilled & intensified more on that one night than on any other. His power, his timing, his footing, his head movement & hand-check defense (which is actually quite a bit over par for a product of the Wild Card gym) were all more honed than ever they looked on FNF or the few meaningful showcases back home in Russia (Castro, Corley).

Provodnikov from any other day would lose clearly to even that foolhardy brawling version of Bradley and not cause the same amount of mayhem.

It was a perfect storm, like God reaching out to finger-bump Adam on the Sistine Chapel, Bradley stooping down and Provodnikov elevating himself so they could meet halfway and provide us with an improbable classic.