Hall of Fame trainer FREDDIE ROACH and No. 3 world-rated welterweight contender RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV took time out of training camp, at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, to discuss their upcoming challenge of undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. The Bradley vs. Provodnikov WBO welterweight championship will take place, Saturday, March 16 at The Home Depot Center and will be televised live on HBO.
“We are having an outstanding camp,” said Roach. “Ruslan has given me everything I have asked for in training. The fact that Ruslan has been Manny Pacquiao’s lead sparring partner his past two camps has given Ruslan an outstanding foundation from which to work. When Manny was preparing to defend his title against Bradley last spring I said any of Manny’s sparring partners could beat Bradley. Ruslan will to prove that on March 16.
“I’ve heard Bradley say he’s going to take the fight to Ruslan. He said the same thing before his fight with Manny. And when he feels Ruslan’s power, like when he felt Manny’s, it’s going to be a remake of Forrest Gump. ‘Run, Timmy, run!’ This isn’t about Ruslan finishing what Manny started. It’s about duplicating it.”
“I’m very happy and very satisfied with everything I have been doing with Freddie,” said Provodinkov (22-1, 15 KOs), a native of Siberia. The two-fisted Russian buzzsaw enters this fight riding a five-bout winning streak with four of those victories coming by way of knockout. “I know my fans have seen me on ESPN Friday Night Fights fighting a certain way, but on March 16, they will see a different Ruslan inside the ring. My work with conditioning coach Gavin MacMillan has made me stronger and faster and my endurance is tremendous. I have never felt so good.”