Key #2 for Chris Algieri Throw Punches. Lots Of Them.
By Lou Catalano
Chris Algieri is a solid boxer, but he has to find a way to force Ruslan Provodnikov into thinking before he attacks. The only way to do that is to fire the jab and straight right hand. He must do so frequently, like all night long. The best example of how to pull this off comes from the underrated Mauricio Herrera, who peppered Provodnikov and then wrapped him up when he tried to get inside when they fought on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights in 2011.
Provodnikov is coming off a brilliant performance against Mike Alvarado, and a star-making turn against Tim Bradley. Is he due for a letdown? Algieri needs to find that out by going to work.
Bradley threw caution–and sanity–to the wind and went straight to war with the “Siberian Rocky,” and he barely survived to squeak out a win.
Algieri isn’t Tim Bradley, and he’d be suicidal to attempt that strategy. If Alvarado couldn’t win a firefight, Algieri won’t either. However, he won’t win by keeping his hands holstered.
He throws pretty straight shots, and if he can land the right hand while slipping away from anything in return, he’ll put himself in excellent position for the upset.
Algieri’s most notable opponent thus far in his undefeated career is Mike Arnaoutis, so this is a bit of a truth-seeking fight for him. Provodnikov is very good at what he does, so we’ll see if Algieri has the goods to shake him down.
Key #2 for Ruslan Provodnikov Work the Body
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
By Gabe Polanco
Something Ruslan Provodnikov did great during his fight against Mike Alvarado was working the body. He seriously hurt Alvarado the first time with a hard body shot and that opened everything else up.
Provodnikov had Freddie Roach’s head assistant, Marvin Somodio in his corner during his last fight and taking nothing away from Somodio–who is a great trainer in his own right–but he is no Roach.
Roach, I’m sure, will have a game plan to work Algieri’s midsection down and chop off his legs. With hard shots to the body, Algieri will find it harder and harder to box on the outside and use his lateral movement to stay away from Provodnikov’s looping right, which is his power shot.
As stated in the first key, his pressure throughout the fight can lead to that awesome body attack and with such a high motor, I don’t think Provodnikov will be fatigued to a point where he can’t keep it up throughout the entire fight.
