BoxRec

If we had to find a fighter who's had a true Rocky Balboa type of career, we would come up with the name of Ruslan Provodnikov. He is a blood and guts warrior who became a key name for HBO's airwaves with his brutal performance in a controversial decision loss to Timothy Bradley in the spring of 2013.

It was his determination and pure heart that secured him televised positions against fighters like Mauricio Herrera, Bradley, Mike Alvarado, Chris Algieri, Lucas Matthysse, and John Molin.

Unfortunately the relentless wars seemed to make their toll on Provodnikov’s mental state, and so he struggled to deliver in his last fight against Molina and lost a lopsided decision over twelve rounds.

BS.com caught up with Ruslan’s manager Vadim Kornilov, who discussed the latest with “The Siberian Rocky."

“Everything is great. He's was elected into the senate in his region of Kanty Mansiysk Russia back in September,” Vadim said. “For now he is waiting for any good offers and spending the time to help his people back at home.”

Ruslan has received some offers for his return. Kornilov said there were some negotiations but nothing materialized yet, because Provodnikov has yet to fully decide when he is willing to lace up the gloves again.

“This would be a question for our promoters. All I can say is that there were discussions in the past couple of months, but they were not concrete and Ruslan was not ready to give an answer before the end of the year on when he is interested in fighting again.”

Wars that Provodnikov had against Bradley or Matthysse could really melt the character of a pugilist.

i voted for catterall just in the hope its in Uk so i can see Prov in the flesh

Feed him to Josh Taylor

that would be very interesting mate

jonnyyorkshu wrote:that would be very interesting mate

They're obviously looking to fast track Taylor so Prov would be the ideal sort of opponent. A sink or swim type fight. Some will say it's too soon but I think Taylor is top notch and this would be a good test that I'd expect him to pass.

i also agree that Josh is top draw but were talking about Prov here and it depends how much he has left,even at 75% i think Prov will walk through him and beat the shit out of Josh late on

jonnyyorkshu wrote:i also agree that Josh is top draw but were talking about Prov here and it depends how much he has left,even at 75% i think Prov will walk through him and beat the poo out of Josh late on

The slug fests take a huge toll on the boxers. But he has had quite a bit of time off..

jonnyyorkshu wrote:i also agree that Josh is top draw but were talking about Prov here and it depends how much he has left,even at 75% i think Prov will walk through him and beat the poo out of Josh late on

Possibility mate but I'd be confident of a Taylor win.

..he's a warrior who took too many blows to his head..there's something about his looks I don't like...I think he should stay where he is..

jonnyyorkshu wrote:i voted for catterall just in the hope its in Uk so i can see Prov in the flesh

Talking about Caterall he was briefly linked to Ricky Sismundo, that'd have been a very fun fight

Cotto needs an opponent. They could fight at 147-150.

Retire. Looked god awful against Molina, motivational problems or not. Keep what brains you have left and be a financial monster in that small village you're from.

Blodhemn wrote:Retire. Looked god awful against Molina, motivational problems or not. Keep what brains you have left and be a financial monster in that small village you're from.

X2 . . . but, if he insists, I vote the Indongoed Russki.

I really wish he would stay retired. I know he won't, but I hope he does. He doesn't need to give anymore of his brain or blood. If he'd like one more payday then he should hold out for the highest offer.

If he must fight, he should face ortiz or rios.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:If he must fight, he should face ortiz or rios.

Beat me to it, but I'd say Rios as well. Well, in honestly he should retire. He's been in a lot of wars and really has no defense. He looked dreadful, making Molina look like F'n Whitaker in his last fight. At least Rios will sit there and exchange, which is what he needs. Plus it would be a good one for the fans.

If Ortiz doesn't shyt the bed mentally, which is always a 50/50 shot, he'd outbox Ruslan pretty soundly. If Molina can do it, virtually anyone can at this point..