By Ian S Palmer
The WBO Junior Welterweight Title will be on the line this Saturday, October 19 when champion Mike Alvarado of takes on challenger Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia. The bout takes place in Alvarado’s hometown of Denver, Colorado and can be viewed live in North America on the HBO network. The 33-year-old champion will enter the ring with an impressive 34-1 record along with 23 Kos while the 29-year-old Provodnikov is 22-2 with 15 Kos.
Alvarado’s last bout was a rematch against Brandon Rios in March in which he avenged his loss in their first bout. He’s an exciting fighter who throws punches in volumes and the same thing can be said about Provodnikov. Neither boxer is hard to find and hit in the ring and since they both possess better than average power this could turn out to be one of the most exciting and aggressive contests of the year.
Provodnikov became an overnight sensation earlier this year when he lost a close contest to Timothy Bradley in a bout many thought he won. Provodnikov and Bradley put on an epic battle with the Russian dropping Bradley and hurting him on several occasions, including decking him just before the closing bell. Provodnikov now has Freddie Roach in his corner and is confident the hall of famer will come up with a game plan to beat Alvarado.
Alvarado, like Bradley, has good hand speed and foot movement. He throws a few more punches per round than Bradley does and this means Provodnikov should know what to expect from him once the bell sounds. However, Alvarado has more power than his American counterpart and while the Russian was able to take Bradley’s shots, he’s going to be hit harder this time around by Alvarado.
Alvarado managed to beat Rios in their rematch by out boxing him. He tried to stay away from getting into an all-out slugfest and it was to his benefit. He established his jab well and managed to stay out of trouble against the hard-hitting Rios. He will need to box the same way against Provodnikov by showing him angles, using combinations and moving out of the way of return fire. However, Alvarado’s a warrior and this could easily turn into a toe-to-toe brawl.
Provodnikov is very aggressive and also quite accurate with his power shots. He’s got a great chin and doesn’t mind getting hit twice to land a shot of his own. He needs to get on the inside against the champion and throw his power shots to the head and body. He might not throw as many punches per round as Alvarado, but every shot is thrown with bad intentions.
The challenger would rather turn this bout into a brawl rather than a boxing match, but the key is getting close to Alvarado. Overall, Alvarado is the better boxer of the two, but as Rios proved, he can be hurt and stopped. Provodnikov’s hands are faster and he owns the better chin. This is an excellent matchup that could really go either way.
This is another tough one to predict with the champion being a boxer with good power and the challenger being a non-stop aggressor, also with good power. If Alvarado uses his boxing skills to get in and out and land his shots cleanly he’ll have the better chance to win on the scorecards. However, if he can’t keep Provodnikov off of him, he’s going to need a hell of a chin to withstand the onslaught. Alvarado has a three-inch reach advantage which needs to be utilized and he has to stay off of the ropes. If he can do this then look for him to retain the crown in an entertaining match in which Provodnikov has his moments.
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