Comments Thread For: Bradley vs. Provodnikov: The Pre-Fight Report Card

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Cliff Rold - An old commercial adage: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

An old saying: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

A counter to both: WBO Welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley.

Bradley started off nicely. He went overseas to upset Jr. Welterweight titlist Junior Witter, got off the floor to unify titles against Kendall Holt, and engaged in a crowd pleasing technical brawl with Lamont Peterson.

Peterson closed 2009. Too bad for Bradley that the biggest parts of his public profile growth have come since. In boxing, it’s always a game of new first impressions as the quest for larger platforms and more audience is pursued.

In the most watched fight of his career, Bradley gave an honest effort and appeared to come up short against one of the modern greats in Manny Pacquiao. Getting the decision anyways has done him no favors. Now, almost a year later, Bradley has a chance to make a new first impression and leave fans, for the first time since the Peterson battle, fondly awaiting his next move.

And lest we forget, the game and always entertaining Ruslan Provodnikov is coming to win. [Click Here To Read More]

[IIG]

Bradley by wide UD.

[turnedup]

A fight worthy of watching on premium cable..good luck to both fighters. It all comes down to how much will the ring rust affect Bradley if he messes up and give Prov an opening it could be lights out so for his sake I hope he's not lost any agility and isn't looking for a ko (Yes I know Bradley and KO in the same sentence ). As for Prov hope he can cut off the ring and try to corner Bradley to impose his will. Can't predict an outcome but I think this will be a very interesting fight for both men.

[Pacdbest]

A fight worthy of watching on premium cable..good luck to both fighters. It all comes down to how much will the ring rust affect Bradley if he messes up and give Prov an opening it could be lights out so for his sake I hope he's not lost any agility and isn't looking for a ko (Yes I know Bradley and KO in the same sentence ). As for Prov hope he can cut off the ring and try to corner Bradley to impose his will. Can't predict an outcome but I think this will be a very interesting fight for both men.

You cant use ring rust as an excuse! Bradley's always fit! He used to this long lay off!

I think we will see an upset! Ruslan has the punches to hurt Bradley!

[jbpanama]

Panama doesn't have Golden KO; so is there a way to Stream it!!!

[mathed]

Tim starts slow but comes on in the second round. I think he will push Provid in the second and third to see what he has and try to hurt him then. If he can't drop him, he will switch it up and outbox and outwork Provid to a wide decision. If Provid starts to tire out, Tim will turn up the heat again around the 9th and try to put him out.

I see Tim trying in spurts to get the KO, early on and then again later after the exhaustion sets in. He won't just coast in this one for the decision but if he has to take one, he will; however he will make Provid look as bad as possible along the way if the fight goes that direction.

Stoppage around the 9th round for Bradley or UD 10 rounds to 2.

[hhwff3000]

The article said it best, Tim will win, but Provodnikov will prove he deserves to be in the ring with Tim. Tim doesn't have enough power to stop the stalking. I think Ruslan should still be undefeated, Teddy Atlas even scored the Herrera fight 116-112 for Provodnikov. Teddy may have a big mouth, but he's rarely that wrong about the scoring of a fight. This will be a good fight.

[Tmann400]

I don't know how, but this fight has been made out to be more competitive then it really is. Provodnikov is an average fighter. And Herrera proved it. Not to mention, he's moving up in weight. It seems as though since the Pacquiao fight, Bradley has been totally underrated. Bradley has fought much better fighters then Provodnikov, and dominated them with relative ease.

Prediction: Bradley absolutely batters Provodnikov, and scores a somewhat surprising stoppage late. Possibly somewhere around the 10th round. Bradley TKO, or wide UD.

[Motofan]

I think Timmy wins wide. I just hope he decides to try and hurt the guy so we get some decent exchanges. Bradley is difficult for me to get excited to watch.

[PunchyPotorff]

Little Timmy is indeed very boring to watch, and Prov is an exciting pressure fighter to watch, plus Roach is in his corner now. Bradley can be hit, and his chin isn't all that great. Holt dropped him hard in their fight, and Prov and Holt are close in power. It all depends on how much running Bradley does, and how much effective pressure Prov can put together. Like the article says, this will be anything but a pushover fight. Bradley may win, but he will get banged up in the process.