By Yuri Tarantin

WBO junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16KOs) says the "Fight of The Year" twelve round decision loss to WBO 147-pound king Timothy Bradley, which took place in March 2013, was the moment that generated the most joy in his career - not the fight that followed, in October 2013, where he stopped Mike Alvarado to captured his current title.

"The most joyous time of the year was not the victory over Alvarado, but what happened after the battle with Bradley. I came to the locker room, upset over the defeat. And the guys from my team were happy. They were celebrating because they understood what I did. Then I went outside and saw a huge number of fans of various nationalities. They waited for me, they applaud me. Then in the morning I woke up ... and I will not say that I became a celebrity, but more like a famous boxer. The victory over Alvarado brought out other emotions," Provodnikov said.

Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru