After his dominant performance this past Saturday when he stopped previously undefeated Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez, former WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov is ready for a huge 2016 as he targets the best fighters at junior welterweight & welterweight.
At the top of his list is WBO Welterweight champion, Timothy Bradley.
Provodnikov stopped Rodriguez in 4 rounds in the main event at the 7th Edition Monte-Carlo Boxing Bonanza Night of Champions and is looking for the biggest fish to fry as he embarks on the new year.
The fight was his maiden voyage with new trainer Joel Diaz.
“This was a good win for me. I felt confident and my defense already felt better. I know that in the next camp things will come together for me and Joel’s training. My goal for next year is to avenge my losses to Lucas Matthysse, Mauricio Herrera, Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri!”, said Provodnikov.
Said Diaz, “This was a fight to get him back after the tough fights. We had a strategy of working on defense and body punches. He did a little more of that then he did in previous fights. It will take a couple of fights to get him to where I want.”
“After the fight he said he wanted to redeem his losses to Matthysse, Bradley and Herrera. I like that, and there are other opponents such as Danny Garcia. That would be a great fight because they are both heavy hitters.
But Bradley is at the top of the list as a rematch of the 2013 Fight of the Year and would be the most desirable fight for the boxing fans.
Bradley, who was trained for two decades under Diaz, also won on Saturday as he stopped Brandon Rios in 9 rounds under the guidance of new trainer Teddy Atlas.
“Teddy is a great motivator, and he brings a lot of energy to the corner.”
One of the memorable moments from Saturday’s Bradley – Rios encounter was a spirited Atlas tirade where he was comparing Bradley to a fireman.
“Well if Bradley is a fireman, it is Ruslan that brings the inferno to the fight. If they rematch it would be a tough fight. After the first fight, everybody knows that Bradley was scarred from the bout. Bradley was damaged and in a rematch, that is what Bradley would be thinking about, and he would not be focused. Ruslan would take the initiative and knock him out”
“Ruslan looked great. The collaboration between Ruslan and Joel Diaz is going well,” said Provodnikov’s promoter Artie Pelullo.
“This win sets everything up for a big 2016. He indicated to me that he wants to avenge his losses and also seek the biggest fights. I think he is in prime position to do just that. I expect to have him in a big fight in the first quarter of 2016. “
