Breakdown of Provodnikov's skills (gifs)

[El Angel]

Good thread. Ruslan is a talented fighter.

[A-Wolf]

Provo has some good tools but he's far from perfect. He spends far too much time walking instead of punching in and he doesn't shoot the uppercut often enough if at all when the opponent is squared up and leaning forward. He's certainly not a "stupid brawler."

[Bushidō]

he's a lot better than his ESPN days

[illmaticfighter]

training with roach provo has some skills than most brawlers.

but i remember the people saying and watching the samething about margo after he beat cotto then he fought mosley and i wonder to myself where were these skills

[DoktorSleepless]

Staying low is a foul, briefly ducking low to avoid shots is fine.

I don't see the strong distinction and why the length of time should matter. It's basically the equivalent of turning you back against the opponent either way, which leaves you vulnerable to getting hit on the back of the head and back. Just like holding, it's a pretty cheap way to hide from punches and halt the action.

Admittedly, last time I researched it I couldn't find the rule clearly spelled out for American commissions. I asked Keith Kizer from the Vegas commission via email, and he told me it was basically up to the ref's discretion.

In the AIBA ( International Amateur Boxing Association) rules, it's simply "Ducking below the belt of the opponent". And for the BBBOC (BRITISH BOXING BOARD OF CONTROL), the rule is simply "persistently ducking below the waistline."

I don't think Ruslan did it excessively so I'm not really complaining. But I didn't think it was defensive wizardry when Pernell Whitaker did it, nor do I think it was defensive wizardry when Ruslan did it.

[Light_Speed]

I call foul in a few of those. Bending below the waist is not cool.

Depends if you stay there or if you go there briefly while dodging a punch. Even if you stay there you can still get hit, a typical ref will let your opponent get away with kidney shots if you play that game.

[Mikhnienko]

Good thread and the effort involved wasn't in vain. Much appreciated. Provodnikov looked very good but he is still missing uppercuts from his arsenal and could throw combinations a little more frequently. I was begging for him to throw some uppercuts inside when Mike would square up leaned over but he never did and he still throws one or two punches the majority of the time. Whenever he puts 3 or more together guys just can't handle it and he needs to make that his default.

His footwork was very good, faster than people give him credit for, efficient at cutting off the ring and can get his punches off quickly after moving, pivoting, small angle re-adjustments and staying lighter on his feet.Roach has him doing alot of drills and excercises for his feet and it is paying dividends. You can see alot of them in this video.

[samouraļ]

Ruslan has improved a lot with Roach and will probably continue to do so.

[SlySlickSmooth]

I thought Roach doesn't know how to teach defense??

[Russian Crushin]

I don't see the strong distinction and why the length of time should matter. It's basically the equivalent of turning you back against the opponent either way, which leaves you vulnerable to getting hit on the back of the head and back. Just like holding, it's a pretty cheap way to hide from punches and halt the action.

Admittedly, last time I researched it I couldn't find the rule clearly spelled out for American commissions. I asked Keith Kizer from the Vegas commission via email, and he told me it was basically up to the ref's discretion.

In the AIBA ( International Amateur Boxing Association) rules, it's simply "Ducking below the belt of the opponent". And for the BBBOC (BRITISH BOXING BOARD OF CONTROL), the rule is simply "persistently ducking below the waistline."

I don't think Ruslan did it excessively so I'm not really complaining. But I didn't think it was defensive wizardry when Pernell Whitaker did it, nor do I think it was defensive wizardry when Ruslan did it.

In none of those gifs did Ruslan ever bend below the belt, what are you complaining about, i dont get it