It was evident in the first round, that at the age of 40, Jose Luis Castillo (66-12-1, 57KO’s), never stood a chance against the younger and stronger Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16KO’s). From the opening bell, Provo came out throwing power lefts and rights to go along with a much improved jab that we haven’t really seen before. The once great Welterweight champion was throwing some nice shots of his own, but The Siberian Rocky was literally walking right thru them and firing back with accuracy.
In the second round, Castillo landed a perfectly placed and seemingly impressive body shot, but Provo was unphased and fired back a right cross that landed on the button. Castillo’s punches had no effect on the Russian, who looked like he was in a regular sparring session with a no name boxer. In the 5th round, Provodnikov landed a pretty left hook that really staggered Castillo, and came with a flurry of punches to put him down for an 8 count. Castillo got up, but Provo kept coming. Another flurry made Castillo back up and take a knee as his legs never came back. Unwilling to continue, the ref stopped the fight, and Provodnikov was credited with a TKO victory.
-David
