Philadelphia (April 20, 2015)— This past Saturday night, boxing fans witnessed a classic bout that saw Lucas Matthysse eek out a close majority decision over Ruslan Provodnikov in a 12 round -junior welterweight clash in front of a sold out crowd at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

The bout, which was televised by HBO Boxing After Dark, has already jumped to the head of the list for 2015 Fight of the Year.

Much of the post fight talk has centered around the courage of Provodnikov, as he fought eleven of the twelve rounds with a severely cut left eye that was due to an accidental headbutt.  With blood streaming down the left side of his face, and his eye closing, Provodnikov fought heroically to come back and hurt Matthysse several times during the bout, and in round eleven he landed a left hook that nearly sent Matthysse to the canvas.

Many at ringside, including The Bleacher Report, HBO’s Harold Lederman, Steve Kim of UCNlive.com, & Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, scored the bout even at 114-114.

“I could not be any more proud of Ruslan,  said Banner Promotions Promotions Artie Pelullo.

“Saturday night showed that he is the toughest and most compelling fighter in boxing.  Saturday’s fight also solidified that Ruslan is the most television friendly fighter in the sport hands down, and there will be many more big fights for Ruslan in the near future.”