Ruslan Provodnikov, the "Siberian Rocky" put his name on the boxing fan's radar when he battered Timothy Bradley and nearly knocked him out in March of 2013. He became an action-fighting darling by knocking out Mike Alvarado in October.
By proving his fights will provide relentless action and knockout potential, Provodnikov has made himself must-see TV and is calling out the big names. If the adage "styles make fights" is true, then the name coming out of Ruslan's camp should make fight fans' spines tingle--Juan Manuel Marquez.
Vadim Kornilov, Provodnikov's adviser said recently, "First of all, Ruslan should take some rest to recover from these hard fights. Then we want Juan Manuel Marquez."
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has said he would also like to pair up the pure brawler with boxing's premier counterpuncher. "An interesting fight would be between Provodnikov, who comes forward, and Juan Manuel Marquez, a great counter puncher."
The problem there is that Marquez felt cheated in his loss to Timothy Bradley in October, and is angling for a rematch with "Desert Storm," which Provodnikov's camp has acknowledged. "We heard, Marquez said his main aim is to get a rematch with (Timothy) Bradley, cause he was "robbed" there."
Kornilov then fired a shot at "Dinamita," possibly to raise his ire and draw him into proving he's not afraid of the brawler. "In all honesty, I think it's just a way to get far-far away from Ruslan. Marquez lost almost all of the rounds against Bradley, there should be no rematch."
On October 29th, Arum admitted that a fifth fight between Marquez and Manny Pacquiao would likely make the most money, but Marquez is firmly of the mind that he wants to face Bradley again.
"I'm sad for what happened in my last fight, because I needed to win," Marquez said. "I was more focused and stronger, but as I look to the future....what motivates me is a rematch with Bradley. Nothing else could take place if I don't carry out this fight. I have to settle this issue with Timothy Bradley, as long as he accepts a rematch."
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