There was a whole lot going on in the world fifty years ago. In the real world, hugely popular President, John. F Kennedy was embroiled in both civil rights issues and the ever-growing tension that was building in South East Asia. In England, the shock of the Profumo Affair was huge news, and in the same country members of pop music group The Beatles were closing in on taking the entire planet by storm.
In the boxing world, a young Cassius Clay was making noise, claiming the world heavyweight title was his destiny. For the moment, though, a hugely strong and terrifyingly intimidating former jail bird by the name of Charles Liston, Sonny to those who knew him, was looking like sitting on the heavyweight throne for, well, as long as he liked!
Moments after his title winning effort against former champ Mike Alvarado, newly crowned WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Ruslan Provodnikov spoke candidly about a possible rematch with the Denver, Colorado, resident.
Andrei S. (Miami Lakes, FL): Provodnikov is a countryman of mine and I was very excited to see him get the victory over Alvarado. How did you rate his performance and what do you see happening next for him?
There are, and probably always will be, rumours among boxing folk that say Mike Tyson wanted no part of George Foreman. The two heavyweight greats fought their peak years in different eras, yet due to Foreman’s astonishing 1987 comeback, there was serious talk as early as 1988 that the two lethal punchers would one day meet in the ring. The fight would have been a huge money-spinner but it never happened. Why? Was Tyson, far more mentally fragile than fans, at the time of his reign of terror (and even beyond), could ever have guessed, scared of “animal” Foreman? Or was the fight lost for some other reason? Without getting into that – and what does it really matter why the fight never happened – I make my case for what WOULD have happened had the two legends collided, as talk of the fight peaked, in late 1990.
The look on Russian warrior Ruslan Provodnikov’s face said it all. Moments after he’d taken all the fight out of the tough and gutsy Mike Alvarado, Provodnikov, blood trickling down his swollen face, let loose with his emotions. Proud to be a world champion, stating afterwards what it means to him to be “a world champion like Leonard and Duran,” Provodnikov saw all his years of toil come to the good.
Ruslan Provodnikov scored a spectacular late round stoppage against Mike Alvarado tonight. It was something else. Provodnikov really looked up to the task. He was just brutal and relentless, and like a hungry shark hunting beneath shadowy waters, Provodnikov always seemed carried by forward momentum. A savage and consistent barrage of sharp hooks, crisp rights, and wicked body shots ultimately led to Alvarado’s demise. Provodnikov’s offense was running on all cylinders, and the surprisingly vicious outcome here helps to provide boxing fans with some new perspective for a couple of things.
British boxing legend and former light-welterweight king Ricky Hatton is one of a few experts who likes the idea of superstar Floyd Mayweather making his next defence against Amir Khan. Hatton, writing in his debut column for 
For any boxer starting out his career, to become a champion is the ultimate goal. For those that succeed in becoming a champion, the next step is to become a great champion. Boxing enthusiasts are a hard bunch to please though, and the “great” label is a tough nut to crack. It is a label made even harder for fighters to attain by critics who choose to move the goal posts, even when a champion has excelled above and beyond his peers in those aspects typically used to define “greatness”. Floyd Mayweather is one such victim. 
Ruslan Provodnikov – 139.8 pounds
Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (19-0, 13KOs), the 2008 U.S. Olympian and one of the most decorated American amateur pugilists, will get his long awaited opportunity at a world title after several delays and opponent changes, when he takes on the former 2004 Olympian, Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan (33-0-1, 21KOs) on November 9th in Corpus Christi, Texas, for the vacant World Boxing Organization`s (“WBO”) Junior Middleweight Championship.