Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Ruslan Provodnikov vs. Lucas Mathysse

Turning Stone Casino and Resort, Verona, New York, April 18
TV: HBO
By Peter Lim

How unfortunate that both these fighters are almost unknown to mainstream sports fans as this A+ matchup is a hardcore boxing aficionado's dream fight with the thrill potential that exceeds every super-showdown out there, Mayweather-Pacquiao included. Kudos to both guys for agreeing to face each other in lieu of the safer options available to them. The fight has Hagler-Hearns written all over it.
Like Hagler, Provodnikov is a vicious seek-and-destroy puncher, but blow for blow, he falls a notch or two below the one-punch sledgehammer power that Mathysse packs, much like Hearns did. Mathysse, having tasted the canvass three times in his last three fights, appears to have the weaker chin of the two, but unlike the ultra-frail Hearns, he was able to regroup every time he hit the deck.
Both fighters' defenses are far from impenetrable so the determining factor here boils down to whether Provodnikov's chin is as torpedo-proof as Hagler's was, and I'm guessing that it is. The Russian buzzsaw will absorb Mathysse's best bombs with aplomb, violently tear into the Argentine, rip him to shreds and score a TKO inside of six action-packed rounds.

No comments:

Post a Comment