Lucas Matthysse – Ruslan Provodnikov: Breaking it Down By the Numbers

By Agustin Perez

From the moment the fight was announced, boxing fans have been counting down the days for April 18th to arrive. The wait is almost over; this Saturday night, two locomotives come to a head on collision as Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov collide in the ring in what is expected to be a fight for the ages. The Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, will play host to this junior welterweight match-up which pits two of the sport’s most explosive fighters against each other.

The Argentine, Lucas Matthysse, 36-3, 34 KOs, rose to prominence after his May 2013 destruction of Lamont Peterson which took all of 3 rounds. In his next bout, Matthysse, lost by unanimous decision to 140 pound kingpin, Danny Garcia in what was a lackluster performance by the man known as “The Machine”. Seven months later, Lucas would return to the ring to square off against hard hitting, John Molina, JR. at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, CA in what turned out to be The Ring Magazine’s 2014 Fight of the Year. Although Matthysse won by knockout in the 11th round, he showed some flaws and even hit the canvas on two separate occasions.

Ruslan Provodnikov, known as “The Siberian Rocky”, was a relative unknown until his participation in The Ring Magazine’s 2013 Fight of the Year against then undefeated champion, Timothy Bradley Jr. although Ruslan lost by decision, he instantly became “appointment television” for all boxing fans. Provodnikov, 24-3, 17 KOs, went on to annihilate, Mike Alvarado, in Alvarado’s hometown of Denver, CO before losing a close split decision to Chris Algieri. Even in defeat, Provodnikov has shown a relentlessness will to win that is matched by very few fighters in the sport.

The bottom line: Two years ago, before losing to Danny Garcia, I thought Matthysse was near unstoppable. That night, he showed that he could be out-boxed by a more skilled fighter. But this was not news to boxing fans, who had seen him lose close decisions before to slick boxers such as Zab Judah and Devon Alexander. What was a surprise to many was that Matthysse could be out-worked and out-slugged which took place in several rounds in his bout against John Molina Jr, who is a very average junior welterweight. Provodnikov is one of the fiercest competitors in the sport with a very formidable chin. He has been out-boxed by guys like Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri but never outslugged.

I’m picking Provodnikov to win by TKO in an all action “instant classic”.