By Robert Soucy
On Saturday night from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY and live on HBO, WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov 23-2 (16KO’s) looks to get one step closer to a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao. He will defend against little known Chris Algieri from nearby Huntington, NY. who will be trying to make a name for himself by upsetting one of the top fighters in the world.
The heavily favored Provodnikov will do what he does best, come forward and impose his will. He is one of the sports heaviest handed punchers and doesn’t fight backing up. His fan friendly seek and destroy style is what boxing fans love. Expect him to put constant pressure on Algieri in an attempt to overwhelm and break him down.
Chris Algieri 19-0 (8KO’s) has never been in with a fighter even close to Provodikov’s level so it’s tough to predict whether or not the magnitude of the event will cause him to freeze. If so, Provodnikov will sense it and it will be a short night.
Algieri can box, uses his jab well, and has an advantage over Provodnikov in height and reach. Unfortunately for Algieri, he hasn’t shown much punching power and Provodnikov has never been stopped or even badly hurt. Algieri will have to try and win this fight with his jab and good boxing ability. At times he will have to stay in the pocket and fight but he needs to limit the infighting as much as possible.
Provodnikov will try to keep Algieri stationery long enough to land his power shots. The Russian champion may only have to trap Algieri with his back to the ropes once to end the fight. Algieri will have the same problem that Timothy Bradley had against Ruslan as I don’t think he has enough pop to keep Provodnikov off of him.
Bradley’s heart and will to win is the only thing that kept him from getting stopped. Does Algieri have that same kind of chin, pride, and fight in him? Undoubtedly, he is going to have to get through some adversity early to have a chance to win a distance fight.
Algieri has one way to win this fight and it’s by out boxing Provodnikov . He needs to use his jab and be in great shape so that he can be mobile for 12 rounds. Definitely a tall task for a fighter who has only been past six rounds seven times in his career and never past round 10.
The prediction here is that Chris Algieri will have that “deer in the headlight” type look in his eye at the beginning of the fight and Provodnikov will pounce. Algieri will survive an early onslaught but will never truly be in the fight. He will not be able to keep Provodnikov off of him and will get worn down. I see Algieri getting stopped on his feet in the middle rounds but a Porter-Malignaggi type beatdown wouldn’t surprise me.
