MANILA, Philippines – World flyweight champion Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria enjoyed the stunning 12-round war between Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov but said the Russian challenger missed some chances during the fight.

Provodnikov, a massive underdog against the unbeaten champion, rocked Bradley in the very first round and nearly knocked him out. He would force the American to take a knee with a relentless barrage in the 12th round, but still lost via unanimous decision.

Speaking with Ronnie Nathanielsz of PhilBoxing, Viloria said it was a “terrific fight.” 

“(Provodnikov lost) because he took some rounds off, and Bradley was able to steal some rounds,” Viloria observed. “This cost him the fight.”

After nearly putting Bradley away in the first two rounds, Provodnikov appeared to have punched himself out and the American was able to recover. Bradley wound up winning most of the middle rounds before nearly getting knocked out again in the 12.

Viloria added that Provodnikov should have attacked Bradley’s body more, especially as the American was already out on his feet as early as round two.

“(Provodnikov) neglected to throw more body shots, which would have helped him in the long run, because Bradley was on his bike,” Viloria explained. “It could have slowed him down.”

Viloria’s trainer, Marvin Somodio, helped Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach in training Provodnikov.

Meanwhile, Viloria is hard at work as he prepares to defend his WBA and WBO flyweight belts against Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada on April 6 in Macau.

“Training has been going great,” Viloria told Nathanielsz.