Replay: Mauricio Herrera vs Ruslan Provodnikov
This is a bit late, but as promised here’s our round-by-round breakdown of Mauricio Herrera’s upset of Russian junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Provodnikov Friday night at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Round 1: Herrera starts out working the jab and keeps at it throughout the round, which helps him keep the stronger Russian at bay. Provodnikov keeps coming forward and looks best when he leads with the jab, but doesn’t throw enough punches to win the round. Some redness around Ruslan’s right eye. Herrera 10 Provodnikov 9
Round 2: Provodnikov tends to come in a bit wildly, but when he connects his punches show their effects. A heavy right-left combination leaves a mark on Herrera’s right cheek, Provodnikov looks better this round. Herrera 19 Provodnikov 19
Round 3: Provodnikov sharper still in this round, landing heavy shots with either hand. A sharp left cross draws the most reaction from the crowd but it’s a right turns Herrera’s left eye into a grade-A shiner. Herrera 28 Provodnikov 29
Round 4: Mauricio comes back stronger in the fourth, leading again with a stiff jab and following it with some of his hardest combinations to this point. Provodnikov is inexplicably reticent after visibly injuring his opponent in the last round. Herrera 38 Provodnikov 38[[MORE]]
Round 5: Herrera showing off a good chin as Ruslan repeatedly lands heavy shots to his head and midsection. Provodnikov showing off his power and seems to be wearing on the smaller Herrera. Ruslan warned for a low blow. Herrera 47 Provodnikov 48
Round 6: Herrera showed more confidence in the sixth, taking the lead and controlling the ring while pounding Provodnikov with combinations. Provodnikov’s tendency to back off after he starts to hurt his opponent doesn’t bode well for his future. Herrera 57 Provodnikov 57
Round 7: Herrera is beginning to control the fight by maintaining his distance and smothering Ruslan when they get in tight. Provodnikov throws from wild angles and a lot of his shots land behind Herrera’s head. Close round. Herrera 67 Provodnikov 66
Round 8: Quiet round with both fighters staying mostly on the outside. Score it for Provodnikov for being the more aggressive of the two. Herrera 76 Provodnikov 76
Round 9: Another relatively quiet round, though this time we give the edge to Herrera. Provodnikov looks confused; he doesn’t seem to understand why his opponent hasn’t gone down yet. Herrera 86 Provodnikov 85
Round 10: Both fighters come out slugging to start the tenth but it’s el Maestro de Riverside who looks more focused and ready to exchange. Herrera’s superior hand speed is allowing him to regularly beat Provodnikov to the punch. Herrera 96 Provodnikov 94
Round 11: Despite Teddy Atlas’ inexplicable scorecard we have Herrera out front and growing stronger heading into the twelth. He took control of the fight in the eleventh, essentially doing whatever he wanted in the ring. Herrera 106 Provodnikov 103
Round 12: Provodnikov showed just enough urgency to pull out the twelfth but it was too late to save the fight or his undefeated record. Both fighters showed enough in the final round to make us believe more highly watchable battles like this are in their futures.
Stiff Jab official scoring: Herrera 115 Provodnikov 113
Despite some talk of robbery amidst boxing’s chattering classes we have this as a clear if close victory for Herrera, who secured the unanimous decision (One judge agreed with us while two had it 116-112.) Here are the official CompuBox stats.
Friday night was undoubtedly a setback for Provodnikov, but the Russian has plenty of time left to correct his shortcomings and improve his guard. Should he insist on continuing with his vanilla fighting style, however, he may never reach the heights predicted for him by many.
As for Herrera, whose only loss was a disputed split decision to former junior lightweight champ Mike Anchondo, his stock has risen considerably thanks to his latest effort on ESPN 2.
Herrera would pose an appealing challenge for an up-and-coming prospect or a veteran in decline; either way Friday night’s highly entertaining effort should have earned him at least another nationally televised payday.