Ruslan Provodnikov

Ruslan Provodnikov just stopped the previously undefeated Ivan Popoca in a great episode of Friday Night Fights.  The Siberian fighter has improved significantly since his upset defeat against Mauricio Herrera in January--my first exposure to him.  That fight was a real disappointment.  The commentators gave him a ton of hype, saying that he was potentially the future of the top Jr. Welterweights.  Instead what I saw that night was a natural in-fighter who tried to out-box his opponent, and did a mediocre job.  The fight was close, pretty exciting, but less than impressive.  And it made pre-fight reports such as this one seem ridiculous.

Turns out that loss was the best thing for him.  After winning a rebound fight back in Russia, he switched to the tutelage of the great Buddy McGirt.  Sure enough, tonight he came out throwing bombs.  His goal was clear this time: to get inside and wail with everything he had.  And he did punch himself out at one point, after his big surge at the end of round 5, but he regained his composure and came back to send Popoca to the canvas in the 8th with a back-breaking 1-2.  The ref stopped the action soon after.

Now I'm convinced.  Yes, he has tons of room for improvement, but now it seems he heading down the right path.  Bring it on, Ruslan, let's see some more KOs.

-JD