Ruslan Provodnikov vs Jose Luis Castillo Preview Nov 28th
Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov will be returning to the ring this Friday, November 28 in Moscow when he takes on Mexican legend Jose Luis Castillo in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout. This is Provodnikov’s first bout since losing his WBO Jr. Welterweight Championship to Chris Algieri by a split decision in June. Provodnikov will be entering the ring with a record of 23-3 along with 16 Kos while Castillo is 66-12-1 with 57 Kos to his name.
The 40-year-old Castillo has a 1.5-inch edge in height as he’s just over 5-foot-7 and he also has a three-inch reach advantage. Provodnikov is a full 10 years younger than Castillo and has fought 148 rounds as a pro while Castillo has 433 rounds under his belt. While Castillo certainly isn’t the oldest boxer around these days, he does come into the fight with a lot of wear and tear on his body over the years. He’s also been stopped in seven of his 12 losses.
As you can see by his record, Castillo doesn’t like to go the judges’ scorecards. He’s got a lot of power with 57 of his 66 wins coming by Ko. Castillo simply likes to slug it out and may the best man win. He’s gone the distance a few times, most notably against undefeated Floyd Mayweather, who he lost to twice by unanimous decisions back in 2002. He’s also been beaten by the likes of Ricky Hatton, Antwone Smith, Jorge Paez Jr, Alfonso Gomez, Cesar Soto and the late Diego Corrales. However, Castillo has also beaten some fine boxers during his career such as Corrales, Jorge Paez, Stevie Johnston, Cesar Bazan, Joel Casamayor, Julio Diaz, and Saul Duran.
Provodnikov is also a warrior and quite a crowd pleaser in his own right. His contest against Timothy Bradley back in March of 2013 will go down in history as one of the best ever even though he came out on the wrong side of a split decision. Provodnikov won the WBO Junior Welterweight title a few months later in another slugfest when he stopped Mike Alvarado in the 10th round. He came up with another crowd pleaser this June, but lost again by a controversial split decision to Algieri. Provodnikov decked the American twice in the first round, but couldn’t keep him down.
Provodnikov is as tough as they come as he just keeps moving forward while punching. He’s got a hell of a chin to go along with better-than-average power, but he can be outboxed by slick fighters. Castillo isn’t a slick boxer though as he also likes to bang away until somebody drops and that’s likely going to be how this fight ends. Castillo and Provodnikov are built out of the same mold as they both apply as much pressure as possible. The problem Castillo faces these days though is the fragile state of his chin.
Castillo has a good jab with his left hook being his best weapon. His right hand is nothing to sneeze at either. However, since Provodnikov has such a good chin Castillo definitely has a tough task in front of him. Provodnikov won’t have to chase Castillo around the ring as he should be right in front of him for most of the fight and he’s not that hard to hit. Castillo’s best chance actually is to try and outbox the Russian, but that’s not his style. He’d rather engage in a toe-to-toe brawl and take his chances.
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Prediction
Castillo’s best days are well behind him. Since he prefers to trade punches his only chance here really is to catch Provodnikov with right on the button. But he should try to land on his opponent as much as he can from the outside to keep Provodnikov on his back foot and at bay. The more-likely scenario here though is going to be an exciting battle between two guys who are just going to trade bombs. Castillo’s been through too many wars and while this fight would have been extremely competitive if he was 10 years younger, he’s probably going to get steamrolled here any time after the opening bell.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights. The odds of a Provodnikov victory are listed at -7500 while a Castillo win is listed as +2500. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.