Lucas Matthysse (36-3, 34 KO) is a beast. Ruslan Provodnikov (24-3, 17 KO) is a beast too.
So who will win this beastly matchup when they meet on April 18? 
In a fight that pits two of boxing’s most exciting, powerful fighters against each other, boxing skills will pay the bills. Yes, I said it, boxing skills, not power, will get it done!
Don’t get it twisted though, this fight will not be a technical boxing match, full of counter-punches, inside clinches and fancy footwork. It will be about offense, as both men rely heavily on it as you can see by their extremely high KO percentages.
However, I believe that the more balanced, efficient and speedier boxer [Matthysse] will win the match.
He will never be mistaken for Floyd Mayweather, but Matthysse has an underrated jab and decent enough hand speed to routinely beat Provodnikov to the punch. I also like the fact that Matthysse has fought the stiffer competition, which will allow him to deal with the high-level stress that a boxer like Provodnikov will bring in a few weeks.
This is not to say that Provodnikov has been protected–not in the least! He took Timothy Bradley through hell-fire in the 2014 fight of the year, battered and bruised the competent Mike Alvarado in a barn-burner, and lost a close decision to the solid Chris Algieri.
But Matthysse nearly took Zab Judah’s head off late in his decision loss to him, pulverized former titlist Lamont Peterson via TKO 3, and lost a clear, but highly competitive, decision to the junior welterweight king, Danny Garcia.
Based on this slight edge in competition, solid edge in knockout rate (85% to 63%) and better boxing skills (i.e. jab), expect Lucas Matthyssee to stop the rugged Ruslan Provodnikov in the second half of the fight.
