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On April 14, 2015 Lucas Matthysse fought Ruslan Provodnikov at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, USA
Provodnikov cut over left eyelid by accidental head butt in round two
Matthysse vs Provodnikov Ring Generals Engage in a Boxing War
Matthysse vs Provodnikov truly electrified boxing fans from all corners of the globe. As an early candidate for fight of the year, the hard hitting Argentine took the battling Russian to the limit. The highly anticipated bout took place this past weekend in front of a capacity crowd at the sold out Turning Stone arena. The Verona, New York fans, however, did not expect the match to be as brutal and competitive as it was. Lucas Matthysse entered the match as the odds on favorite, and promised to knock out the feisty Russian early in the contest. Ruslan Provodnikov, however, had other plans in mind.
The Match
The match simply delivered non-stop action from the opening bell. Lucas dominated the first seven rounds with precise jabs and hooks. He also displayed his defensive mastery by quickly countering Ruslan’s body shots and punches. With both fighters looking for the quick knockout, every punch seemed to resonate and blare all over the arena. By the 7th round, Provodnikov looked like a punching bag. The battle-tested Russian also slowed down his offense, and reverted to blocking the onslaught of the incoming Argentine bomber. It was at this point, however, that Ruslan sprung back into life and began leveling Lucas with a battery of punches and shots. After 12 weary and legendary rounds, Matthysse secured the victory with a controversial majority decision.
The Aftermath
Matthysse vs Provodnikov was the perfect ending of a glorious night of boxing. While the co-feature saw Terrence Crawford remain undefeated against Thomas Dulorme, the eyes of the boxing world were truly on Lucas and Ruslan. The match also had to contend with the Fonfara versus Chavez, Jr bout over on rival network, HBO. As the 114-114, 115-113, and 115-113 scores were announced in favor of Matthysse, Ruslan’s face has immediately dropped. With most of the press and commentators agreeing with the scores, Provodnikov felt he did enough to rebound and win the match. This is now the third controversial loss of Ruslan’s career. Many felt he soundly defeated both Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri in previous showdowns. Provodnikov humbly accepted the judge’s decision; however, a future rematch against Lucas is certainly warranted.
The Future
For Lucas Matthysse, the future is definitely bright. With this victory, he has now earned the respect of his fellow countrymen, Sergio Martinez and Marcos Maidana. With possible matches against Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez, Lucas is truly back in contention and has rebounded from that lackluster performance against Danny Garcia.
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