John Molina Jr. was able to outbox Ruslan Provodnikov and won via unanimous decision. But it was not easy for Molina as he took the best shots of the hard-hitting Russian.
After the fight, Molina's face tells everything that happened inside the ring against Ruslan Provodnikov for the 140-pound title eliminator on Showtime's main card, Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York. Bruised and bloodied.
The same can be said on Provodnikov. Provodnikov (25-5, 18 KOs) now a resident of Los Angeles, California was cut over his left eye and bloodied.
With the style of Molina, I didn't expect an all-out slugfest. I expect Molina to engage and disengage creating favorable punching room to connect on points. Indeed Molina outmaneuvered Provodnikov and was able to land clean that impressed the judges. He maintained composure and punches back.
I likened the performance of Molina (29-6, 23 KOs) to that of Mike Alvarado when Alvarado defeated Rios on points during the second fight. Molina was not completely lured to a brawl. Instead, he brawled for a while then maneuvered to punch back without getting hit that much.
Molina employed also more jabs from the outside that would derail Provodnikov's track forcing Provo to reset.
Provodnikov pointed out, during the post-fight interview, that it was the right decision, and that he wasn't as hungry as he used to be.
With the victory, Molina is back to the 14o-pound contention.
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