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E-mail StoryGordon suffers first pro loss in 5 fights
| Friday, May 16 2008 10:41 PM
Last Updated: Friday, May 16 2008 10:45 PM
Fighting with two puffy eyes in the fifth and six rounds, unbeaten Russian light welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov hung on to score a unanimous decision over 28-year-old Brian Gordon of Bakersfield Friday in Las Vegas, handing the local mechanic and Iraq War veteran his first professional loss in five fights.
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The six-round bout, aired live on ESPN2 from the Cox Pavilion at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, was scored 59-55, 58-56 and 60-54 by the three ringside judges. Previous to Friday night, Provodnikov, 8-0, had knocked out six straight opponents.
Gordon's record fell to 4-1 with 4 KOs.
Gordon, a native of Barstow who trains at the Bakersfield Police Activities League under the guidance of Michael Dallas, cut Provodnikov's right eye in the third round, and landed three solid shots to the Russian's face in the sixth, but could not muster the energy to continue the flurry.
"That dude had a chin, man," Dallas said. "Brian did good, though. It's hard to prepare for somebody like that."
Provodnikov, 24, scored heavily to the body throughout, landing 45 body shots, compared to just nine for Gordon. The body shots seemed to zap Gordon of energy in the middle and late rounds.
"That guy was just a little stronger than Brian but Brian hurt him or at least was able to keep the guy off of him," Dallas said. "We kept telling him to stay on the jab, keep boxing him because he wasn't going anywhere. I don't think he was going to knock him out, so just box him.
"It's all a learning experience. We'll bounce back for sure."
Gordon, a father of three, began his professional career in Bakersfield after serving two tours of duty with the U.S. Army in Iraq driving 50,000-gallon fuel trucks to strategic locations.