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.
Mike Alvarado Bows Down to Ruslan Provodnikov
Saturday night Mike Alvarado felt good. Why shouldn’t he? He was in front of his hometown fans at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Denver, Colorado. He was feeling very confidant and ready to give the 29 yr old Ruslan Provodnikov a boxing lesson. He was eager to tee off on the head of this straight forward Russian from Beryozovo. He watched Timothy Bradley win a tough fight against Ruslan. He also knew “Desert Storm” came close to getting stopped. But, Mike wasn’t going to get sucked into a slugfest with Ruslan, but even if he did he still had the size and strength advantage, right?
HBO’s Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones, Jr. weren’t so sure. They wondered which Mike was going to show up Saturday night? The one who got stopped in the first fight with Brandon Rios, or the Alvarado who showed up in the 2nd fight, the Alvarado who boxed beautifully to get a win over Rios. They collectively thought there was a real danger that once Mike got tagged, he would get pulled into the trenches and start trading with Ruslan.
Who next for sensational slugger Ruslan Provodnikov?
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.
Last night’s terrific fight was advertised as just that and Provodnikov (and Alvardo) delivered as he usually does. Now 23-2(16), the 29-year-old who came short in that January classic with Tim Bradley can now look ahead to some well deserved big fights and big pay days.
Erik Skoglund clinches EU Light Heavyweight Title; Deion Jumah secures third professional victory
Erik Skoglund (18-0, 9 KOs) is the new EU Light Heavyweight Champion after an impressive points victory over Danish veteran Lolenga Mock (31-14-1, 12 KOs). The 22-year-old Swede stamped his authority on the battle early but found himself on the receiving end of a huge right from Mock in the third. However, he proved his chin as he beat the standing count and regained composure. He dominated the rest of the fight, working cleverly behind his jab and throwing well-timed combinations. The scores were 118-110, 116-112 and 117-110. “I am proud of Erik,” promoter Nisse Sauerland said. “That was a great win against a very strong opponent. Erik really proved his class tonight. There are great times ahead, for him as well as for Swedish boxing.”
What Did Ruslan Provodnikov’s Victory Really Tell Us?
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.
For starters, Timothy Bradley is looking pretty good right about now. When Bradley struggled against Provodnikov in what some considered a disputed win, people were highly critical of him especially since this followed his extremely controversial Pacquiao victory. Now within the span of a week, not only has Bradley soundly beaten the still formidable future Hall of Famer, Juan Manuel Marquez, but Provodnikov also stepped up and again made people take notice with his destruction of Alvarado. With the advantage of hindsight it now becomes clear that Provodnikov was a far greater opponent (and win) for Bradley than people then realized.
Alejandro Luna Remains Undefeated With TKO Victory
WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA (October 19, 2013) – Tonight at the Pico Rivera Arena in Whittier California, Gary Shaw Productions in association with La Noria Entertainment presented a fun, exciting night of boxing.
In the 10-round main event, fan favorite Alejandro Luna (16-0, 12 KOs) won by way of TKO after his opponent Daniel Attah (28-17-1, 11 KOs)could not continue after round six. Luna switching back and forth from southpaw to orthodox used a vicious body attack to control the action. Attah never landed any hard punches that could keep Luna off of him as Alejandro applied pressure throughout the fight. The fans were thrilled to see the referee stop the bout and raise the hand of their local hero.
Ruslan Provodnikov stops Mike Alvarado to claim the WBO light-welterweight title
The fight was promoted by Top Rank and Banner Promotions.
The two slugged it out from the opening bell with Provodnikov rocking Alvarado in round one. The two fought at a fast pace and traded vicious shots which thrilled the crowd for every second of the fight.
Alvarado tried to box and move to offset the relentless pressure of Provodnikov. In round seven, Provodnikov started to bleed from the nose and later suffered a cut over his right eye. In round eight the fight turned in favor of Provodnikov when he sent Alvarado to canvas on two occasions.
Provodnikov stops Alvarado in 10th
Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KO’s) ended the brief reign of WBO light welterweight champion Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KO’s) by defeating him by 10th round stoppage tonight in a two knockdown victory at the 1STBANK Center, Broomfield, in Denver, Colorado, USA. In the 10th round, Provodnikov staggered a tired and badly beaten Alvarado, pummeling him with powerful shots for the last minute of the round.
Alvarado was ready to go in the last 20 seconds of the round while trapped against the ropes badly hurt. Somehow Alvarado made it out of the round, but there was no way that he was going to be able to make it through the 11th. After the round, Alvarado’s corner wisely halted the fight rather than letting him come out for the 11th and get finished off by Provodnikov.
Photos: Carl Frampton defeats Parodi
EBU super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (17-0, 12 KO’s) annihilated a badly over-matched, and underpowered Jeremy Parodi (35-2-1, 9 KO’s) by a 6th round knockout tonight at the Odyssey Arena, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Frampton placed a perfect left hand to the body that put Parodi down on the canvas. The referee then counted Parodi out.
The bout was not much of a fight because Parodi was too busy getting nailed with power shots for the entire fight to do much besides throwing jabs. Parodi didn’t have the armament to make this an actual fight, so he ended up taking shots one after another for 6 rounds until hitting the deck from a left hand from Frampton.
Parodi was cut over the left eye in the 4th, and the blood was obviously a big problem for him. But even if he hadn’t been cut, he wasn’t going to be able to do much in this fight due to his lack of power. Parodi was over-matched in every sense of the word.
Who can match Floyd Mayweather for speed? Ricky Hatton says Amir Khan can!
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 The Manchester Evening News, says he feels Khan is one of just a handful of fighters who can match Mayweather for speed.
“Amir deserves his shot against Floyd,” Hatton wrote. “It is a career-defining fight and would be his biggest payday, so he’s definitely got to go for it. Amir lost to Lamont Peterson and then Danny Garcia, but he’d reached the top. He doesn’t need money, he needs a challenge – and you cannot get bigger than Floyd. The one thing that comes to mind with Floyd is his defence. He can attack, but he prefers to defend, sit on the ropes. I can’t remember too many fights where he’s had to go on the front foot and attack.