Ruslan Provodnikov Meets With Promoter, Return is Anticipated

By Steve Kim

On June 11th, Ruslan Provodnikov dropped a twelve round decision to John Molina in what was considered a pretty sizable upset. On this particular night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York, his trademark relentlessness and passion were absent.

There was talk that at age 32 and just 30 fights under his belt (where he has amassed a career of 25-5 with 18 knockouts) that 'the Siberian Rocky' has had enough.

But Artie Pelullo, the head of Banner Promotions, tells BoxingScene.com - "I had a meeting with Ruslan on Monday before he went back home to Russia.. He told me he doesn't want to leave the ring the way he did the last fight ended. He's not sure if he wants to keep fighting, we know he's not going to fight the rest of the year.

"But I believe he wants to have at least one more fight and go out on a winning note. So I think he's going to in that direction. But I'm going to know better because from September 23rd to the 25th I'm going to be in his hometown for a boxing tournament that he has for amateurs. So I'll know better them."

At the very least, Provodnikov needs a hiatus from the ring with his hell-bent-for-leather style inside the ring, Pelullo opines - ''Ruslan is such a fan-friendly fighter and TV friendly for the way he fights, he throws his body in full blown. So you can't fight like that without taking a lot of time off and you can't win fights with his style without being totally committed to that style."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.