Provodnikov (25-4, 18 KOs) pressured his foe from the start, landing thudding shots to the body and head throughout the encounter. Rodriguez (20-1, 18 KOs) fought back as long as he could, but the wilting pressure and raw power of “The Siberian Rocky” was too great and he eventually crumbled.
A combo to upstairs and down, punctuated by an overhand right to the head, floored Rodriguez along the ropes about a minute into the fourth. After he was allowed to continue, Rodriguez swallowed a few more stinging fists and once he stumbled down into the ropes from a calculated barrage, the ref stopped it. The official time of the TKO came at 1:40 of the fourth.