Manny Pacquiao Passing The Torch To Ruslan Provodnikov as HBO’s Top Pound-for-Pound Attraction

Ruslan Provodnikov just won his first-ever championship belt last week, and the future certainly looks brighter for the 'Siberian Rocky' as HBO Boxing's next pound-for-pound attraction.

The 29-year-old Provodnikov captured the WBO light welterweight championship after forcing Mike Alvarado to quit on his stool in the 10^th round of their slambang championship fight.

Armed with a potent looping overhand right and a barbarian mindset to go toe-to-toe at all costs, Provodnikov's in-your-face fighting style is certainly causing troubles for his foes no matter how defensively succinct they are.

Tim Bradley, who is considered one of the best technical fighters in the business, tried to use a hit-and-run approach in his WBO welterweight showdown with the Russian, but failed to do so as he found himself entangled in the middle of a brutal slugfest last March.

Though "The Desert Storm" still managed to score a unanimous decision win over Provodnikov, Bradley admitted he learned a very valuable lesson that night - the Siberian Rocky is no pushover.

"He's going to be a world champion someday," Bradley told the press after his unanimous decision win over Provodnikov last March, according to the Daily Mail. "He's a very strong puncher because he steps into his punches and he hits really hard. It was a really difficult fight."

In the fight against Alvarado, Provodnikov brought in the same no fear attitude as he immediately took the fight to the Mile High boxer from the opening bell.

The Russian landed big blows on Alvarado in the first three rounds, but the damage became even greater in the succeeding rounds when Provodnikov began unleashing a full repertoire of hooks, uppercuts, and haymakers to completely baffle his opponent.

Greatness in the Making

With his sterling fights against Bradley and Alvarado, Provodnikov steadily emerged as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. Floyd Mayweather Jr. might be the pound-for-pound king, but Provodnikov fights are widely found to be entertaining.

While Pacquiao is trying to reestablish himself as HBO's top gun, Provodnikov is now making his case as the cable network's budding star--and perhaps, the one destined to succeed Pacman in the next three or four years.