Conductors, Ruslan Mikhailovich

Ruslan Provodnikov was born in the urban-type settlement Berezovo , with a population of about 7 thousand people. Is a Mansi by nationality ^[1] . At 10, his father brought him to the boxing gym to distract Ruslan from the street, where he participated in fights with other children. The first trainer of Provodnikov was Evgeny Vakuev, he was engaged in the education of Ruslan and instilled in him a love of boxing ^{[2] [3]} . For several years he lived in Izluchinsk , where, studying under the guidance of Honored Coach of Russia Stanislav Berezin , he rose to the master of sports of the Russian Federation ^[4] .

Amateur career

Conductors spent 150 fights and won 130 victories in the amateur ring, is a master of sports ^{[5] [6]} . In 2000, he won the amateur tournament Eurocadet Junior Championship, which took place in Greece . In 2005, Provodnikov lost in the quarterfinal of the World Boxing Championship among oil countries for the prizes of TNK-BP held in Nizhnevartovsk ^{[6] [7]} .

Professional career

On December 3, 2006, Provodnikov made his debut in professional boxing. The fight was held in the welterweight category, Ruslan’s rival was Russian boxer Kirill Artemyev, for whom this fight was also his debut in professionals. The duel lasted all the allotted rounds, Conductors won by unanimous decision. Two months later, Ruslan boxed with Dmitry Toropchin. In the interval between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Toropchin refused to continue the fight. Ruslan spent his next three fights in the USA , all fights ended in the 1st round with an early victory of Provodnikov. This was followed by 12 consecutive victories before Ruslan entered the battle with the American Mauricio Herrera . The twelve-round match ended in a victory by Herrera by unanimous decision. Conductors participated in organizing his next fight, it took place in the hometown of the boxer Berezovo . He was opposed by Vyacheslav Yakovenko, Ruslan managed to knock out his opponent in the 3rd round ^[8] . On April 15, 2011, Conductors met with the undefeated Ivan Popoka, the fight took place in the United States. In the 8th round, Ruslan sent the Mexican boxer to a knockout ^[9] .

Fight with Demarcus Corley

On December 5, 2011, Conductors went into battle with former world champion Demarkus Corley , the match was held in Yekaterinburg . An experienced American studied Ruslan well and tried to act at a distance so that a younger opponent could not take advantage of superiority in physical strength. By the end of the battle, Provodnikov opened a dissection in the eye area - the first serious injury in the course of a duel in Ruslan’s career. Conductors won by unanimous decision in an equal battle. ^[10] In an interview after the battle, Ruslan noted that he did not want to take risks so as not to miss a strong blow from the veteran. He had to act in an unusual manner for himself, abandoning corporate pressure ^[11] .

On January 27, 2012, Provodnikov won the WBO Intercontinental Champion title in the first welterweight division in the battle against David Torres ^[12] . After this fight, Ruslan was replaced by a coach, and Freddy Roach took the place of Buddy McGirt ^[13] . The new coach invited Provodnikov to take part in the training camp of world champion Manny Pacquiao , Ruslan had the opportunity to conduct training matches with one of the best boxers of modern boxing ^[14] .

Conductors defeated ahead of schedule in their next two battles against David Torres and Jose Reynoso. Then there was information that in the fight with Ruslan, WBO world champion Timothy Bradley was interested ^[15] .

Fight with Timothy Bradley

On February 3, 2013 it became known that their next fight of the Conductors will be held against the world champion Timothy Bradley . The fight took place on March 16 and was broadcast by the leading American television channel HBO ^[16] . Ruslan lost in a spectacular dramatic fight by the unanimous decision of the judges. The champion was close to the “standing knockdown” several times, and in the 1st round he was on the floor of the ring, but the referee considered that he had slipped. In the last seconds of the 12th round, Bradley knelt to get a break while the referee knocked him down; at the end of the count a gong sounded about the end of the round and the battle. Despite the successful actions in the attack, Conductors missed a large number of accurate hits by Timothy, because of which numerous abrasions and bruises were formed on his face, as well as a dissection in the region of his left eye. After the final gong, Conductors thought he won the fight, but all three judges gave victory to the reigning champion ^[17] . That evening, Bradley was hospitalized with a diagnosis of amnesia and concussion .

He [the Conductors] is much more powerful than Pacquiao . He hits harder and his punches are shorter. He's a great puncher, and I take off my hat to him.

Original text

He's much more powerful than Pacquiao. He hits harder, and has shorter punches. He's a great puncher, and I take my hat off to him.

- Timothy Bradley ^[17]

A few days later, the headquarters of Ruslan Provodnikov filed an official protest at the WBO against the actions of the referee of the match Pat Russell. The Provodnikov team insisted that Russell made a gross mistake by not starting a knockdown countdown after Bradley lost his balance and fell at the start of the fight (the referee considered the boxer to slip). The main requirement of the application was a rematch between the boxers ^[18] .

This fight was recognized as the fight of the year (2013) according to the version of Ring magazine ^[19] and according to the Association of Boxing Journalists (BWAA) ^[20] . For the uncompromising and aggressive fighting style that Ruslan Provodnikov always shows, he received from his fans the respectful nickname "Siberian Rocky" ^[21] .

Impact Statistics (General)

Fight with Mike Alvarado

On October 19, 2013, Ruslan met with the current WBO world champion in the weight category up to 63.5 kg, with American Mike Alvarado . Alvarado was a favorite among bookmakers with a slight advantage of 1.05 to 1. Alvarado's fee was $ 1.3 million, and Conductors earned $ 600,000 as a bidder. Ruslan Conductors was much tougher in the ring, and constantly went forward. In the end, he broke the champion, and Alvarado refused to enter the ring after the 10th round. Conductors became the new world champion according to the WBO ^[22] .

Loss of title in battle with Algieri

On June 14, 2014, Ruslan Provodnikov entered the ring with a little-known American boxer, Chris Algieri (19-0) . Before the battle, many experts rated Algieri as a passing opponent, which Ruslan had to pass without difficulty. The first round confirmed the expectation, in it Conductors twice sent Chris to canvas . The applicant was able to hold out, and thanks to the distance he was able to win more rounds. The verdict of the judges was ambiguous - one of the judges gave the victory to Provodnikov with a score of 117: 109, and the other two gave the victory to Algieri with a score of 114: 112. As a result, Conductors lost and lost the world title ^[23] .

On November 28, 2014, Provodnikov won by TKO in the 5th round of ex-world champion Jose Luis Castillo .

Fight with Lucas Matisse

On April 18, 2015, Provodnikov, in a bitter battle, lost on points to the former interim world champion WBC welterweight 1st Argentine knockout Lukas Matisse . In the initial rounds of the bout, the Conductors missed a lot of heavy hits by Lucas Matisse and received a cut, which affected the referee's scores and the result of the meeting. Matisse, working second number, met Ruslan with a jab and right-handed lines, not allowing Ruslan to reduce the distance and impose the cabin. Starting from round 8, an equal fight began with a slight advantage to Matisse. ^[24] . In the last rounds of the Conductors, he managed to turn the tide of the battle and was close to knocking out the opponent, but Matisse could hold out, and the judges gave the Argentinean a separate decision ^[25] . Conductors himself recognized this fight the hardest in his career ^[26] .

Fight John Molina Jr.

On June 11, 2016, Provodnikov met with a former contender for the world lightweight title, American John Molina Jr., . The fight lasted all 12 rounds. The judges unanimously gave the victory to Molina: 116-112, 115-113, 117-111 ^[27] . Ruslan himself recognized the justice of the defeat ^[28] .

Regional titles

• Intercontinental WBO Welterweight Champion (2009, 2012)
• WBC Asian Welterweight Champion (2011)
• WBO Welterweight World Champion (2013)

• Essentially does not drink alcohol ^[29] .
• He loves the work of Sergei Yesenin , Vladimir Vysotsky and Igor Talkov ^[29] .

• List of world welterweight boxing champions

• Ruslan Provodnikov (eng.) - professional fight statistics on BoxRec website