By Edward Chaykovsky

Home Depot Center, Carson, California - WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (30-0, 12KOs) had to survive on pure heart when he was taking a pounding in several action-packed rounds in his twelve round war with Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15KOs). Bradley was hurt bad in several round and barely escaped a knockout loss in the second and twelfth rounds. He won a unanimous decision with scores of 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112.

“I gave it everything I had. Every ounce I had, I gave. He’s much more powerful than [Manny] Pacquiao. He hits harder, and has shorter punches. He’s a great puncher, and I take my hat off to him," Bradley said.

Bradley was very impressed with Provodnikov's strength and his power punching ability. He expects the Eastern Euro boxer to win a world championshop in the future.

“He’s going to be a world champion someday. He’s a very strong puncher because he steps into his punches and he hits really hard. It was a really difficult fight. I want to show him by those exchanges that I wasn’t afraid of him. That’s why I kept trading with him. I didn’t want to show any fear. I can brawl and box with anyone,” Bradley said.