On 10/21/13 I had the opportunity to see the toughest man currently boxing ply his trade in the ring. Ruslan is a Siberian villager with a face slopped like the armor of a Russian battle tank. He brought his mother to America in her traditional garb to see him try to take Mike Alvarado’s WBO 140 lb title from him in his hometown of Denver Colorado.
It did not look good for Ruslan [22-2, 15 KOs] going in. Mike [34-1, 23 KOs] is extremely tough and is more versatile than the Siberian. Mike is also a bigger man. They both weighed in at 139 the day before. But at fight time Ruslan weighed 148 and Mike weighed 157. Ruslan was not worried, claiming that he had eaten raw fish and meat all his life and would ‘break’ Mike with his trademark relentless pressure.
Roy Jones Junior was on hand for color commentary with all of his country flare and brutal asides.
The first five rounds of the fight were a see-saw battle with Ruslan throwing overhand rights and left hooks and Mike countering with uppercuts. Something happened in there in the middle of the fight which convinced Mike to box more and use his southpaw option to frustrate Ruslan.
Ruslan ‘smelled blood’ and amped up the pressure. The fact that he had not taken time to acclimatize to the altitude did not affect Ruslan at all. He faded rarely and never for long. You short boxers need to watch this fight. What set up the win for Ruslan was a combination of two tactics: attacking Mike’s floating rib with straights and hooks, off the jab and as leads; and a slide-hook. In Round 7 Ruslan uncorked the slide hook.
A slide-hook is hardly ever seen in boxing. It is something that old-timers who relied on overhand rights used to go to sometimes. It is excellent against a man on the ropes and/or against anyone committed to protect against the right. The body mechanics of this punch are very similar to a stick-fighting tactics called ‘lateral lunging’, where the stick fighter throws a horizontal stroke in the same direction as his lateral lunge, pulling the force through the target. Ruslan would throw or feint the right, then step right as he sunk in a high hook with his left. The step gave him the angle, and the timing used his right leg and core to pull the punch through the target to the right.
In Round 8 Ruslan administered a brutal beating to Mike, dropping him twice. The slide-hook figured prominently as the set up, with Ruslan worked the overhand right left hook combo over and over again to put Mike down. Mike Alavarado might just be the second toughest dude in boxing. His struggle to stay on his feet was gripping.
In Round 9 Mike rallied and boxed well frustrating Ruslan, who even tried to land a leaping left hook. When he missed that punch he actually laughed at himself, giving Mike a look that seemed to say, “You can’t fault a clutz for trying?” I scored Round 9 for Mike.
Round 10 was the Siberian Zombie Boxing Apocalypse with Mike cast as a doomed extra stuck in a room with the captain of the Siberian Zombie Olympic Boxing Team. The referee mercifully stopped the fight in between rounds.
I don’t know how long Ruslan’s armored cheekbones are going to hold up. He is a likeable modest fighter who speaks of boxing in terms of ‘breaking will’. He is a psychological warrior, who does not complain about decision losses, credits his mother with his victories, and kisses the head of his defeated opponent. You just can’t dislike this guy. If you ever see his name on a fight card, do yourself a favor and tune in.
