By Ryan Burton

This past Friday, former champion Ruslan Provodnikov stopped the shop worn Jose Luis Castillo in 5 rounds to get back in the win column after his controversial loss to Chris Algieri in June. Provodnikov said that he trained very hard for the fight, knowing that if he had a let down he very well could have lost.

"All I can say is that Castillo is a real warrior and he came to win this fight! If I didn't take this fight seriously and didn't train the way I did, anything could have happened in the fight. That's what Castillo was hoping for,  that I underestimate him," Provodnikov explained.

The Russian fighter said he was very pleased with the crowds reaction to his first fight in his native country in about three years. He said he fed off their energy and was glad that he delivered a knockout for them.

 

"I definitely am glad we made this fight at home," said Provodnikov. "It had been a long time. I needed to come back and give my fans a performance at home."

Provodnikov said that he plans on taking a break but hopes to be back in the ring in the first quarter of 2015.

"For now the plan is to take a little time off and start training for my next fight in the US in February or March," Provodnikov told BoxinngScene.com.

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