[Video] Provodnikov Batters Alvarado Into Submission

“I knew I had to break him. I don’t care about the titles. It’s all about the war we had today.” – RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV

DENVER, CO — Questions were answered and titles lifted. Going into last night’s welterweight clash at the 1STBANK Center between Ruslan Provodnikov and Mike Alvarado, fans wondered if they were going to see a Fight of the Year contender, tense boxing chess match, the brutal ruin of both fighters, or a combination of all the aforementioned points. The fight would tease in all those directions, but settled into a Siberian tiger in Provodnikov hunting a dying prey and delivering the death-blow in the tenth to take a corner stoppage and the WBO welterweight title.

This was a fight where the paper statistics, as evidenced by my pick of Alvarado, couldn’t account for the unbreakable will and animalistic drive Provodnikov unleashed on the now deposed champion.

FAULTY MOVEMENT: The game plan for Alvarado wasn’t exactly a secret. He had to show movement, work his jab, and display solid power to keep the Russian at bay. The problem with Alvarado’s movement was seen right from the first round, as too often he tried to use his legs to evade Provodnikov sans a jab. Unless you’re legs come from  Muhammad Ali, it’s highly difficult to keep a high-level fighter confused and off you just with your footwork.

With a hard jab coming at him, Provodnikov cut off the ring quickly and rattled Alvarado with several overhand rights. Alvarado started to adjust by shooting counter left uppercuts and short right hooks as the challenger came in, but it still left him in precarious positions where Provonikov could return fire and do his own damage. And as the bout went on, that lack of a consistent jab allowed Provnikov to extract a pound of bloody flesh from the title-holder even in rounds he lost.

MILE HIGH WORKRATE: With his family and hometown fans in attendance, you knew Alvarado wouldn’t fold easily. “Mile High Mike” picked up his workrate and had standout moments in rounds 2, 3 and 5, where his jab was featured and his left uppercut found Provodnikov’s jaw. In addition, Alvarado took chances going southpaw, allowing him to throw vicious right hooks inside and right-handed jabs.

Alvarado started the sixth with a blistering attack of hooks inside and carried most of the round. However, Provodnikov left the title-holder worse for wear in the final minute after landing a brutal succession of left hooks that buckled the legs. The seventh featured both men re-arranging each other’s faces with compact hooks inside. Even with eyes cut and swelling on both sides, Provodnikov was the more determined fighter, and punctuated the stanza with a spearing right cross at the bell. These Provodnikov attacks led to the definitive round of the fight — the eighth.

THE CHAMPION BECOMES PREY: Having taking enough of a beating inside, Alvarado tried to get back to moving. Unfortunately for the champ, he body punching had made his legs ponderous and movement predictable. Provodnikov cracked him with a thunderous left hook that had Alvarado careening into the ropes. Provodnikov pounced with relentless hooks that forced Alvarado to his knees. Barely up before the ten-count, Alvarado was quickly trapped on the ropes and again put back on his knees by Provodnikov’s merciless hooks.

Up at eight, Alvarado finally got some reprieve in Provodnikov being arm-weary, allowing Alvarado to land hard and clean head shots to get enough breathing room to survive the round.

Whether that survival was a good thing is up to debate, because the writing was now on the wall.

BREAKING POINT: Alvarado did land a massive right hand in the ninth, but it only elicited a sadistic, ghoulish smile from the challenger. Provodnikov knew any remaining offense from Alvarado was purely perfunctory, the instinctual movements of a body not comprehending what Alvarado’s mind already knew — I can’t beat this man tonight. Smartly, Provodnikov de-emphasized the left hook upstairs and spent the last two rounds gutting the champion with right hands to the body.

It would be a double right hook to the body and head that put Alvarado back in serious danger. Although he was able to roll with most of Provodnikov’s follow-up hooks on the ropes, he got battered again at ring center and half-turned away from the challenger in an attempt to escape the beating.

Alvarado’s lead trainer told him after the 10th that it was time to stop, as he had nothing left. Referee Tony Weeks, knowing what was at stake, pushed the cornermen aside, looked Alvarado directly in the eye, and asked loudly if he wanted to continue. Alvarado gave a quiet, but firm “NO,” signaling the end of his title reign.

Full fight below courtesy of @Sweetboxing

[dailymotion k41TCrICGndzBt4Ni8K]

B-LEVEL FIGHTER NO MORE:  A lot of us picked Alvarado on the belief that Provodnikov’s performance against Tim Bradley was an anomaly, that he only nearly got a knockout because Tim fought stupid. The consensus was that Provodnikov was a dangerous, but ultimately ESPN-level fighter that needed cooperation (ie. stand in front of him) to be effective.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Provodnikov showed excellent body punching, superb movement of his own to cut off the ring, and brutal accuracy and focus. The Siberian beast makes you fight his fight. That’s what Bradley and Alvarado learned. And now we have another top fight in the division, and one that only has to let Top Rank contractually “co-promote” his next fight. Does that mean we’ll possibly see Provodnikov in there with a Danny Garcia or a Lucas Matthysse? Time will tell. If HBO is smart, they’ll open the checkbook to keep him on their network

THE HEALING PROCESS:  When was the last time Mike Alvarado has been in an “easy fight?” Going back to his comeback win over Breidis Prescott in 2011, Alvarado has engaged in a succession of attrition fights with Mauricio Herrera and Brandon Rios. Last night was another career-shortening battle. Ideally, Alvarado needs a rest until about last summer 2014 AND a soft touch in his first fight back. Unfortunately, with the Top Rank roster being thin and with his entertaining style, he might get rushed back a lot sooner.

HBO’s “Epic Fall Schedule” is so far living up to its name.