Junior welterweight sluggers Ruslan Provodnikov and Lucas Matthysse, two of boxing’s most exciting fighters and biggest punchers, are set to meet in a fight many will view as a surefire fight of the year candidate.
The fight will take place on Saturday, April 18 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Tickets for the April 18th HBO Boxing After Dark event at Turning Stone Resort go on sale on TODAY!!!,Thursday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Ticket prices are $75 for ringside seats, $50, $35, and $25 plus applicable fees and are available at the Turning Stone Resort Box Office by calling 315-361-7469 or online at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com).
HBO is planning a split-site card on April 18 with Provodnikov-Matthysse in one bout and lightweight champion Terence Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs), the 2014 ESPN.com fighter of the year from Omaha, Nebraska, who is moving up to junior welterweight, facing Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (22-1, 14 KOs) for a vacant world title from a location to be determined, in the other bout.
“I’m glad that this fight is finally done,” said Provodnikov, a former world titleholder. “This is the fight I have been waiting for a long time. I think that this fight will be nominated for either fight of the year’ or knockout of the year.”
Matthysse, a former interim titleholder, is on the same page as Provodnikov.
“I only want the biggest fights against the best fighters and this fight between Provodnikov and I will surely be fight of the year,” he said. “Provodnikov is a warrior that never stops throwing punches and his style suits me very well.”