Provodnikov deserved a draw!

I believe Bradley won 7 rounds, with Provodnikov winning 5. However, with the two knockdowns (one scored incorrectly) the fight would have evened up on the scorecards. I have to give it to Provodnikov. He was brought in to make Bradley look good, and instead of just turning up and collecting his pay cheque he played a huge part in making this battle a fight of the year candidate. He was better than I gave him credit for and I look forward to seeing him back at 140. In terms of Bradley, I have to give him credit for his heart and chin, but to be honest he didn't fight well tonight. Provodnikov obviously punches hard, but he isn't a devastating puncher like HBO would have you believe. Those punches were made to look harder because Bradley's defence was virtually non-existent. I think he took this fight lightly, and to be frank, he was almost humiliated by a complete unknown because of it. Still, despite the result (a draw was the correct outcome) it was an amazing fight, and I'm salivating at the thought of Bradley facing the likes of Maidana and Matthysse. Those fights need to happen. As does a rematch of this one!

Comments (15)

Pacdbest

To make it a draw you probably have to give Ruslan 10-8 rounds in the the first two rounds or at least one and that is the most subjective call to make in boxing so you can't really say it was easy. I have ruslan winning! if u properly score fights by the book! there should be 10-8 score in the 1st 2 rds. want a KO but Bradley's chin was concrete!

13y ago

TX_BOXNG

Mark my words.....if Bradley-Marquez is made.....Bradley WILL beat Marquez. Different styles than Bradley-Manny and Provonikov. my pride wont let me accept this, but you are right, i will still be with Marquez 100

13y ago

4Corners

I agree, Marquez is a counter puncher and won't pressure like Provodnikov. Bradley has the tools to outbox him. Matthysse and Maidana on the other hand - those are some awesome fights. Awesome fights that won't happen until Bradley leaves Top Rank, and who knows when his contract is up. Honestly....Bradley should have signed with Golden Boy. He could have gotten Floyd possibly, and Golden Boy runs 140-154.

13y ago

BetterCallSaul

Mark my words.....if Bradley-Marquez is made.....Bradley WILL beat Marquez. Different styles than Bradley-Manny and Provonikov. I agree, Marquez is a counter puncher and won't pressure like Provodnikov. Bradley has the tools to outbox him. Matthysse and Maidana on the other hand - those are some awesome fights.

13y ago

BafanaBafana

I had Provodnikov winning 5 rounds (1,2,6,11,12) and there were actually two knockdowns that went unaccounted for, the one in the first round and the one in the sixth when Bradley sat/rested on the last rope. In a fair world, Ruslan would have won the fight.

13y ago

4Corners

Mark my words.....if Bradley-Marquez is made.....Bradley WILL beat Marquez. Different styles than Bradley-Manny and Provonikov.

13y ago

kiaba360

I think 114-113 either way or a draw would've been an accurate description of the carnage that went on.

13y ago

turkas

I scored the knockdown for Prov (obvious), gave him the 11th (Prov won this (IMO), and scored the 12th 10-8. I didn't think it was a difficult fight to score whatsoever. The rounds were clear cut. It wasn't ruled a KD so you don't score it as one. Now you could have scored the 1st round 10-8 with no knock down, but I felt Bradley did enough to make it 10-9. I also want to point out every professional judge or ex judge agreed with this. Scoring it 10-8 is very subjective, so saying it is "easy" is just plain false. especially since 10-8 rounds with no knock downs are very rare and Bradley did get some decent work in round 1 too.

13y ago

Phenom

to be honest the ref should have stopped the fight in the 12th but I had Bradley winning the fight

13y ago

BetterCallSaul

To make it a draw you probably have to give Ruslan 10-8 rounds in the the first two rounds or at least one and that is the most subjective call to make in boxing so you can't really say it was easy. I scored the knockdown for Prov (obvious), gave him the 11th (Prov won this (IMO), and scored the 12th 10-8. I didn't think it was a difficult fight to score whatsoever. The rounds were clear cut.

13y ago

4Corners

I agree. But some on here think Provonikov won rounds 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, and 12. I didn't see Provonikov win 6 rounds, I saw him win 5. But hey that's just me.

13y ago

turkas

I'm not complaining about the result. It wasn't even close to a robbery. But in my opinion the fight was an easy one to score so a draw is the most acceptable outcome. To make it a draw you probably have to give Ruslan 10-8 rounds in the the first two rounds or at least one and that is the most subjective call to make in boxing so you can't really say it was easy.

13y ago

BetterCallSaul

If the fight was close enough to be deemed a draw then you can't really complain about the result because that means the fight was probably close enough for either guy to win. I swear people complain about 1 out of every 3 score cards on this site... I'm not complaining about the result. It wasn't even close to a robbery. But in my opinion the fight was an easy one to score so a draw is the most acceptable outcome.

13y ago

FeFist

I didn't have Prov winning 5 rounds, I had him winning four so even with the knockdown he would have lost in my books.

13y ago

turkas

13y ago