Timothy Bradley was again rewarded by the judges as he won a narrow unanimous decision over Ruslan Provodnikov last night. It was almost as controversial as his split decision win over Manny Pacquiao except this fight was an out brawl. Read more after the jump.
In the first round Provodnikov knocked down Bradley who stumbled and took moments to return to his feet. Shockingly the judges didn’t call it a knockdown but instead a slip and the fight continued. Both Provodnikov and Bradley took turns destroying each other in one of the best fights I’ve seen in recent years. Both showed extreme mental and physical toughness as they continued to remain on their feet despite brutal blows to the face and body. Provodnikov managed to knockdown Bradley again but the fierce contender again rose to his feet.
Punch statistics showed Bradley connected on 347 punches to Provodnikov’s fiercer 218, with a 129-32 edge in jabs. Bradley won by a narrow margin but had the first knockdown been counted it would have resulted in a draw. “I deserved to win, I deserved to win,” Provodnikov (22-2) said. “This should have not been left to the judges.” Much of the crowd agreed with Provodnikov as they jeered the announcement of the winner. Bradley believed he won but did give props to Provodnikov. “He hits far harder than Pacquiao,” Bradley said after the decision was announced. “His punches are shorter and tighter.” He also added “He’s going to be a world champion one day.” Bradley retains his WBO welterweight title and remains undefeated at 30-0.
