This fight was exactly as advertised. Lucas Matthysse (37-3, 34 KO's) started and worked off his jab all night against Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4, 17 KO's). Matthysse was the busier of the two fighters and got off to a fast start. A clash of heads caused a major cut above the left eye of Provodnikov, which gave him problems all night.
Provodnikov was the aggressor for most of the fight and landed some huge shots against Matthysse during the fight. In the 11th round, there was a break in the action for some loose tape on Matthysse's gloves. For some odd reason it took a while to get this tape cut. When the action resumeed, Provodnikov landed a massive left hook that buckled Matthysse. "He did hurt me. In the eleventh round he hit me on the side of the head and it did hurt me," Matthysse would say after fight.
The judges scored the fight 114-114 and 115-113 twice, for Matthysse. Ringside Reporter had it 115-113 for Matthysse.
"I'm ready for the next fight, I want the winner of Mayweather-Pacquiao," stated Matthysse after the fight. Don't hold your breath for that one.
