Provodnikov-Matthysse, Crawford-Dulorme, Chavez Jr.-FonFara Review

In the most highly anticipated fight thus far in 2015, Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov squared off in an incredibly gutsy fight live from Tunring Stone in Verona, New York. 

The fight started off in Matthysse’s favor, although the first round could be considered a feel out by their standards, even though it had plenty of action compared to the average opening round. Matthysse kept Provodnikov in check and kept getting loser and looser as the round went on.HBO card was one of the most anticipated in quite some time, but the evening’s co-feature was deserving of some attention, too, although it was lost a bit on the main event. In the televised co-feature, Omaha’s favorite boxer, Terrance “Bud” Crawford, stepped up to junior welterweight for the first time and took on Thomas Dulorme.

The perception was that Crawford was the high ranked fighter worth the world-class tag, while Dulorme was the highly skilled fighter that would never live up to his original aspirations. Crawford, who struggled to make weight in his last 135lb title defense, stayed patient early and allowed Dulorme to dictate based on output.Over on ShowTime tonight, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. headlined in a fight against Andrzej Fonfara live from the StubHub Center in Carson, California. It was Chavez’s first fight back from a year long layoff.

Fonfara looked really god from the opening bell, while Chavez Jr. spent more time complaining than fighting. Fonfara stayed planted and threw meaningful shots, putting together impressive combos. Chavez wasn’t very methodical with his offense, but instead he was hoping that he could overwhelm Fonfara at some point.