Damn.... Just think if Mattysse vs Provodnikov is made. That would be a war to end wars. Id love to see him take a crack at Danny Garcia. Damn good fight tonight.
I'd pick both to beat him, but both would be crazy fights. Danny has the skill and the spoiler tactics to neutralize Ruslan, and Lucas has the power (I think) to stop Ruslan in his tracks for once. That's why I'd pick them.
tonight's fight ultimately proved one thing, and that's how absolutely average/C-level Alvarado is
Ruslan is a faster version of margarito, that's all he is
but sometimes a fighter who can pull off that style as well as Ruslan does, doesn't need to add a lot of elements to their game, they can simply break a guys will
I'd pick both to beat him, but both would be crazy fights. Danny has the skill and the spoiler tactics to neutralize Ruslan, and Lucas has the power (I think) to stop Ruslan in his tracks for once. That's why I'd pick them.
I've watched enough of Matthysse fights to have seen him chase around guys until he hurts them, his defense is mostly offense, and when he doesn't obliterate them or hurt them with his power all that happens is he chases them, that doesn't mean he is great at cutting off the ring, that means he has devastating power when he gets you.... do not confuse those two things. Just look at the Judah fight Judah was coming forward most the fight til he got hurt in the 10th and he would have put Judah to sleep if he would have been able to cut off better but Judah got on bicycle mode and survived with ease Matthysse just chased.
As good As Garcia lateral movement was it wasn't all that much from the beginning he just did it better than other guys Matthysse had seen. Bradley can still dance circles around Garcia in that department, and Provodnikov pressed the issue enough to force Bradley into a brawl (Yes i dont believe that i almost gave myself brain damage on purpose b/s Bradley says).
There all my points proven with fact no fanboyism here.
his problem vs Judah wasn't his inability to cut the ring
he tried boxing Judah from the center of the ring for most of the fight, and by most people's accounts, he was successful at it
nowhere in that fight did he show an inability to cut the ring
you need to realize that cutting the ring off isn't a necessity in every fight if you have power, and Matthysse does occassionally chase a guy in straight lines but it's usually against guys with poor footwork
I disagree that Ruslan cuts the ring better than Matthysse, he's just more willing to do it from the start of the fight, whereas Lucas doesn't cut the ring until he's sold that he can take the other guys power or if he feels the other guy doesn't want to get tagged
Watch more Matthysse fights if you wanna comment about his ability to cut the ring, he's very good at it
I actually think Ruslan did a poor job of cutting the ring against Alvarado and Bradley, Alvarado's movement gave Ruslan fits tonight but Alvarado couldn't move for all 12 rounds, and he started gassing around the 5th round. I'm surprised Mike didn't realize a lot sooner than when he started his offense first, it froze Ruslan, similar to what happens to Matthysse when guys constantly throw first at him, he freezes and waits til they're done punching.
If Mike had moved more laterally in the center of the ring, and threw more combinations he would've had Ruslan guessing. He had a terrible game plan but he's not as good as what people here thought, but he's exactly what I thought he was, a very very basic boxer who will struggle against volume guys who have fast hands and fast feet (Rios has neither of these)
I've watched enough of Matthysse fights to have seen him chase around guys until he hurts them, his defense is mostly offense, and when he doesn't obliterate them or hurt them with his power all that happens is he chases them, that doesn't mean he is great at cutting off the ring, that means he has devastating power when he gets you.... do not confuse those two things. Just look at the Judah fight Judah was coming forward most the fight til he got hurt in the 10th and he would have put Judah to sleep if he would have been able to cut off better but Judah got on bicycle mode and survived with ease Matthysse just chased.
As good As Garcia lateral movement was it wasn't all that much from the beginning he just did it better than other guys Matthysse had seen. Bradley can still dance circles around Garcia in that department, and Provodnikov pressed the issue enough to force Bradley into a brawl (Yes i dont believe that i almost gave myself brain damage on purpose b/s Bradley says).
There all my points proven with fact no fanboyism here.
Bradley fight brought him out of ESPN. This fight caused his stock to rise but Garcia and Lucas are the upper elites. Ruslan is more Peterson, zab/Pauie winner line. Good win no doubt and no problem with boxing adding another fighter but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
you don't break down fights solely based on "how good the fighters are"
styles make fights when the skill sets are similar
lucas and danny have better skills than ruslan but his style and his ability to carry out his style can off set his skill deficiency
Pacquiao isn't as skilled of a boxer as Marquez or Cotto, but he beat both of them
Ruslan/Matthysse is a 50-50 fight IMO
"I disagree that Ruslan cuts the ring better than Matthysse, he's just more willing..."
Keyword, willing... Matthysse's will goes out the window when opponents don't lay down for him. You can't reward Matthysse for something he doesn't do. It wouldn't take much imagination to figure out that Matthysse wouldn't react well at all to being hit by Provodnikov.
Don't get too excited. Provodnikov is a HBO fighter and I don't think he will be fighting on Showtime.
Either way I would favor Danny and Lucas over Ruslan when all of them are at their 100%.
I got the feeling Alvarado wasn't. Maybe he was really weight drain or all the wars have caught up with him.
I also disagree with you assertion that Matthysse has "sucky defense"
He only landed 19 fewer punches than Danny did, and that's with one eye.
But that's off-topic and for another discussion
Garcia has better movement than Alvarado and Provodnikov cuts off the ring better than Matthysse that would be an interesting fun fight but Garcia cruises to a UD if he dances as well as he did Matthysse until he got the upper hand. Now Matthysse vs Provodnikov is a scary fight, because both guys have sucky defense but hit hard and have iron granite chins, and i wouldn't give 2 sh*ts who wins tbh i just think would make for a fun watch.
I disagree that Ruslan cuts the ring better than Matthysse, he's just more willing to do it from the start of the fight, whereas Lucas doesn't cut the ring until he's sold that he can take the other guys power or if he feels the other guy doesn't want to get tagged
Watch more Matthysse fights if you wanna comment about his ability to cut the ring, he's very good at it
I actually think Ruslan did a poor job of cutting the ring against Alvarado and Bradley, Alvarado's movement gave Ruslan fits tonight but Alvarado couldn't move for all 12 rounds, and he started gassing around the 5th round. I'm surprised Mike didn't realize a lot sooner than when he started his offense first, it froze Ruslan, similar to what happens to Matthysse when guys constantly throw first at him, he freezes and waits til they're done punching.
If Mike had moved more laterally in the center of the ring, and threw more combinations he would've had Ruslan guessing. He had a terrible game plan but he's not as good as what people here thought, but he's exactly what I thought he was, a very very basic boxer who will struggle against volume guys who have fast hands and fast feet (Rios has neither of these)
Bradley didn't fight Marquez the way he did Ruslan, get it through your head. He went into the Pro fight trying to prove something after all the flack he got about the Pac robbery. He went in there and tried to brawl with Pro, even exchanging punches when he was hurt, that is not Bradley's style at all.
When he decided to box he was winning easily, when he decided to brawl is when Ruslan gave him trouble. Provodnikov did nothing to cause Tim to change his style, it was all Bradley, it's obvious if you watched the fight.
If Bradley actually went into the fight boxing, moving like he normally does he wins that fight in a shut out.
Bradley is always a sitting duck for the overhand right. If Bradley ever wants more Ruslan fist in his mouth, he knows where to find him. I'll be feeling bad for the Bradley fans who are nervous as hell and upset throughout that fight, if it ever happened.
They both kill him.
I'm not sold on Provodnikov, I thought Alvarado was going to win but after seeing him look like a skeleton I didn't think he'd make it past 3, instead he was equal with Pro. up until the last few rounds. I'm not even sure if Pro can beat Rios.
Seeing Bradley beat him the way he did also doesn't make me believe he can beat the top guys at 147. He's got an great chin and great power, but lacks everything else.
I think Danny's size and movement ****s all over what Alvarado can do in the ring, I think Danny's combinations and movement would be too much for Alvarado
I think Matthysse vs Ruslan is a pick-em fight, Matthysse probably has similar power but better defense but struggles with volume punchers (at least this is what people have said about him in the amateurs)
again, styles make fights, this doesn't mean Matthysse is a bad fighter by any means and he's my favorite fighter right now, but if you break down this matchup, it's a pick em fight. Danny edged Matthysse but I think he would be able to handle Ruslan much better than Tim Bradley
"Seeing Bradley beat him" as if thats an insult or something to look down apon...Bradley just beat Marquez without much trouble and he's top 10 lb for lb...Nothing wrong with barely losing to Bradley.
Provodnikov fought Bradley to a tougher fight than Marquez did.....
Provodnikov would beat the **** out of overrated Matthyse...Alvarado would have pieced Matthyses ass up to...And Bradley would embarrass him.
Bradley didn't fight Marquez the way he did Ruslan, get it through your head. He went into the Pro fight trying to prove something after all the flack he got about the Pac robbery. He went in there and tried to brawl with Pro, even exchanging punches when he was hurt, that is not Bradley's style at all.
When he decided to box he was winning easily, when he decided to brawl is when Ruslan gave him trouble. Provodnikov did nothing to cause Tim to change his style, it was all Bradley, it's obvious if you watched the fight.
If Bradley actually went into the fight boxing, moving like he normally does he wins that fight in a shut out.
Garcia has better movement than Alvarado and Provodnikov cuts off the ring better than Matthysse that would be an interesting fun fight but Garcia cruises to a UD if he dances as well as he did Matthysse until he got the upper hand. Now Matthysse vs Provodnikov is a scary fight, because both guys have sucky defense but hit hard and have iron granite chins, and i wouldn't give 2 sh*ts who wins tbh i just think would make for a fun watch.
Defensive master? WTF?Alvarado was way behind when the fight was stopped, I haven't see the punch stats but I'm sure they favor Provodnikov clearly. And he has more boxing skills than Rios, he can actually move his head on the inside, throw counters and pivot to create angles. Did you watch the fight sober?
Of course he was behind when the fight was stopped, however up until the 1st KD which occurred late in the fight he was blocking practically everything Pro was throwing. The fight was pretty much even as well. Pro was occasionally landing a couple hard shots per round, mainly when they traded, and it took its toll on the weight drained Alvarado.
Garcia and Matthysse >>>>>>> Provodnikov
Garcia by decision
Matthysse by KO
Based on what? He dropped Bradley many times and almost beat him. Bradley is 10 times better than both.
And don't make excuses for Bradley.