Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York - In a very anticipated battle of dangerous junior welterweight contenders, and it lived up to the hype and then some. Lucas Matthysse (37-3, 34KOs) started very strong and survived some very scary moments in the final three rounds to win a twelve round majority decision over former WBO champion Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4, 17KOs). The scores were 114-114, 115-113, 115-113.

Matthysse's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, was surprised at the close scorecards. He felt Matthysse won at least eight or more rounds in the contest. While Provodnikov is gunning for a rematch, De La Hoya says their side is not really interested and looking to move on to other things.

"I didn't see the fight that close. I gave Provodnikov maybe four rounds. Lucas fought a great fight. He had a great game plan. Provodnikov is a great fighter with a great heart. I wish him all the best. He has a bright future, but we'll move on," De La Hoya said.