Provodnikov to take on Castillo in battle of former world champions on Friday, November 28 in Moscow, Russia

He is considered the most exciting fighter in the sport due to his crowd-pleasing style.

Provodnikov won his first seventeen bouts as he defeated many quality opponents.
.

On March 16, 2013, Provodnikov took on undefeated WBO Welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Provodnikov beat and battered Bradley to the point where Bradley suffered a concussion and was sent to the canvas in the final seconds of the bout

The fight made Ruslan a one of boxing’s “Cant Miss” stars.   Unfortunately, Bradley won a debated split decision in what was the 2013 Fight of the Year.

Since that bout, there has been a major push for the rematch, but Provodnikov has been turned down several times by Bradley.  Bradley has stated on more then one occasion that he will never get into the ring with Provodnikov again.

Provodnikov would not be denied as in his very next bout he won the WBO Jr. Welterweight title with an emphatic 10th round stoppage over Mike Alvarado in Alvardo’s hometown of Broomfield, Colorado.

Provodnikov dropped Alvarado twice in round eight, which were the first two times in Alvarado’s career that he ever tasted the canvas. Provodnikov continued to batter Alvarado until he could no longer take any more punishment and he quit on the stool in the bout which took place on October 19, 2013.

Provodnikov is coming off a controversial split decision defeat to undefeated Chris Algieri, in a bout that saw Ruslan drop Algieri twice in round one and badly closed Algieri’s eye.  Most ringside observers and the audience watching on HBO thought the verdict should have gone to Provodnikov.

Castillo of Mexicali, Mexico is a two-time WBC Lightweight world champion who has made five total defenses and has been in several memorable bouts.

He has a record of 66-12-1 with 57 knockouts,

He captured the WBC Lightweight title on June 17, 2000 with a 12-round majority decision over Stevie Johnston (30-1).  He defended the title with a draw with Johnston and then he scored a 6-round stoppage over Cesar Bezan & Seung-Ho Yuh (13-1).

In April 20, 2002, Castillo was denied a victory that most believed he deserved when he pushed Floyd Mayweather to the limit before being on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.  Eight months later, Castillo fought a rematch with Mayweather and lost another unanimous decision in a bout where the scores were even closer than their first encounter.

On June 5, 2004, Castillo regained the WBC Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano.  He defended the title with a 12-round split decision over Joel Casamayor and a 10th round stoppage over Julio Diaz.

On May 7, 2005, Castillo and Diego Corrales engaged in what most think is one of the greatest fights of all time.  They fought an epic battle that saw Corrales and Castillo wage an inside battle for the ages.  In the memorable 10th round, Castillo sent Corrales to the canvas twice.  Only to see, Corrales, with his left eye closed, comeback and landed a barrage of punches on the ropes before referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight.

Castillo got even in the rematch by stopping Corrales in the 4th round of the rematch.

Castillo has continued to fight and defeat top opposition and is on a two-fight winning streak and in his last bout, he defeated Jose Luis Payan (12-1-1) via 5th round stoppage on May 30 in Nogales, Mexico.