Ruslan Provodnikov lost his WBO junior welterweight title to Chris Algieri in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night on a split decision. Two judges scored the bout 114-112 for Algieri and the third had it 117-109 for Provodnikov. Algieri was knocked down twice in the opening round and finished the bout with a badly swollen right eye, but scored well all along.

For one judge to make Provodnikov an eight-point winner and the other two giving it by two points to the challenger should be a matter of discussion in the aftermath to the fight. Provodnikov, trained by the highly regarded Freddie Roach, landed the harder punches but probably not enough of them to remove all doubt. The Russian’s professional record fell to 23-3, including 16 wins inside the distance. Algieri remained undefeated after 20 bouts, with 8 knockout victories.

"I felt like after the knockdown I was trying to land the big punch," Provodnikov said. "I have to admit, runners are not my style. I said before it's just not my style. He just ran and touched me. He just jabbed and touched me. This is the worst style for me. I like guys who are in front of me and fighting me. I gave a very exciting fight and I think the fans were not sleeping in their seats. I did what I promised."