By Ian S Palmer
Russian warhorse and former WBO Junior Welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov will be facing off against America’s John Molina Jr this Saturday, June 11th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on Showtime and on Sky Sports in the UK. Provodnikov last fought against in November and stopped Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez in the fourth round. Molina was also last in the ring in November and beat Jorge Romero by a third-round TKO. Provodnikov and Molina are both hoping this fight is a stepping stone to another world title shot sometime in the near future.
The 32-year-old Provodnikov enters the ring with a record of 25-4 along with 18 Kos. He’s won seven of his last 10 fights with the other three being defeats. He’s not the biggest around as he stands just 5-feet-6-inches tall and has a reach of 66 inches. Provodnikov became a big-name boxer back in 2013 after his slugfest with Timothy Bradley, which Bradley won by controversial unanimous decision. The Russian prefers to brawl rather than box and isn’t shy about letting his fists fly as often as possible. He also has a great chin to go along with his exciting, furious style. He’s tough and likes to pressure his opponents, but isn’t hard to hit.
His other losses came against Mauricio Herrera by unanimous decision in 2011 to Chris Algieri by split decision in 2014 and to Lucas Matthysse by majority decision last year. His best wins have been against the likes of Mike Alvarado, Jose Luis Castillo, DeMarcus Corley, Emmanuel Augustus, Ivan Popoca, David Torres and Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez. Provodnikov has a bit of trouble against superior boxers and that’s why he’d rather not let his fights go to the scorecards. His losses have all been pretty close, but were losses nonetheless.
The 33-year-old Molina of Kovina, California climbs through the ropes with a record of 28-6 along with 23 Kos. He’s struggled lately with five losses in his last 10 bouts. He has quite a size advantage as he’s just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 71-inch reach. He’s a tough guy with a lot of experience and has also been in a few wars. He’s another action boxer, but his best days are behind him now. He’s got good power, but unfortunately his chin isn’t as solid as his fists, and that’s what makes him a fan-friendly fighter.
His losses have been against Martin Honorio by unanimous decision in 2009, to WBC lightweight titleholder Antonio DeMarco by first-round TKO in 2012, to Andrey Klimov by majority decision in 2013, to Lucas Matthysse by 11th-round stoppage in 2014 , to Humberto Soto by unanimous decision in 2014 and to Adrien Broner by unanimous decision last year. His best wins have been against and Mickey Bey. Molina turned pro back in 2006 and has gone 153 rounds since then while Provodnikov has 169 rounds under his belt since 2006. Molina’s knockout ratio currently stands at 68 per cent while Provodnikov’s is 62 per cent.
If Provodnikov can’t put his opponent away he can often be outboxed, but it’s not really in Molina’s nature to utilize his boxing skills as he can easily be drawn into a brawl. That’s why this bout could be a treat for the fans. They both have power and can both be hit without having to chase them around the ring. Molina may try to use his reach advantage by jabbing and then getting in and out as soon as possible rather than digging in the trenches and going toe-to-toe, but he’ll eventually have to stand his ground.
Prediction…
Provodnikov will try to get right on top of Molina and won’t let up as he throws relentlessly. He needs to get inside and stay there and lean on Molina whenever possible and dig to his body as well as his head. If he can do this consistently then he should eventually wear Molina down and stop him. It’s always possible that one of them gets caught cold early on, but it’s more likely they’ll trade punches for several rounds first.
