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NEW YORK -- Ruslan Provodnikov had a banner 2013, but he's yet to kick off his 2014. He'll get back in the ring Saturday when he makes the first defense of his 140-pound title against Chris Algieri at Barclays Center on HBO. But will the layoff affect Provodnikov, especially against a fighter who will pose a very different style to the two men he fought last year?
Robert Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 KOs) is finally getting back in the ring after a year layoff when he takes on Yoshihiro Kamegai on June 21 in the main event of a Showtime Championship Boxing tripleheader. However, Guerrero is already thinking about big fights going forward. At the top of Guerrero's list? A welterweight bout with current 140-pound champ Danny Garcia.
Danny Jacobs is getting his second crack at a version of the middleweight title. The cancer survivor announced via his verified Twitter account that he will be facing Australia's Jarrod Fletcher for the vacant WBA middleweight title on either August 2 or August 9 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The welterweight bout between IBF champion Shawn Porter and mandatory Kell Brook is also being targeted for the August 9 date.
Chris Algieri (19-0, 9 KOs) is a sizable underdog heading into his June 14 HBO fight with Ruslan Provodnikov (23-0, 16 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but he's not worried. That's because Algieri has identified some weaknesses in the Siberian Rocky's game from watching tape, and he plans to capitalize on them to take home the WBO 140-pound title.
It appears all systems are go for the scheduled July 26 fight between middleweights Gennady Golovkin(29-0, 26KOs) and Daniel Geale (30-2, 16KOs). Golovkin had been waiting for approval from the WBA for a voluntary defense, and the World Boxing Association announced on Tuesday that his application was approved. The fight will be televised by HBO Boxing from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Geale added that he and GGG indeed received official approval from the WBA.
Austin Trout now has an opponent for his return bout. The former junior middleweight titleholder will face Australia's Daniel Dawson, Trout told BoxingScene.com on Monday. Trout added that the bout is likely to take place in August. Trout (26-2, 14 KOs) hasn't been in the ring since a lopsided decision loss to Erislandy Lara in December. Prior to the loss, though, Trout was rising fast through the sport, coming off a big win over Miguel Cotto and a controversial decision loss to Canelo Alvarez in which the two fought on even terms.
Hassan N'Dam has his sights set on regaining a middleweight title. N'Dam, whose only career loss is a defeat to Peter Quillin in October 2012, called out new IBF beltholder Sam Soliman. Soliman of course won the title with a wide-points victory over Felix Sturm on Saturday. N'Dam (30-1, 18 KOs), who is promoted by King Sports, has no qualms about traveling to Australia for the fight and is confident of victory.
Gennady Golovkin expects clarity for his next fight to come Sunday. The undefeated middleweight is slated to defend his WBA title against Daniel Geale on July 26 in Madison Square Garden in New York, but he's been waiting for the go-ahead from the WBA. Golovkin owes a defense against mandatory challenger Jarrod Fletcher, which was ordered on May 13. However, Golovkin applied for an exception for a mandatory defense, and tweeted on Sunday, "expecting today the WBA resolution re(garding) the fight against Daniel Geale on July 26, NY, MSG, @HBOboxing."
Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31KOs) started his professional career at 140 pounds, but will be gunning for a world title 20 pounds north when he faces Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28KOs) on June 7 at MSG. Cotto fought just three fights at 154, going 1-2, with a win over the pedestrian Delvin Rodriguez, and losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout. The fight with Martinez is for the lineal middleweight title, but will be contested at a catchweight of 159.
Andrzej Fonfara faces the toughest task of his career Saturday night. He'll fight lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson on Showtime in the fighter's hometown (Montreal), and the crushing power that the 36-year-old carries. Stevenson scored a KO 1 over Chad Dawson last summer to wrest the crown, and has since defended it with impressive stoppages over Tavoris Cloud and Tony Bellew.