By Ian S Palmer
Veteran heavyweight Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria will be fighting Rydell Booker of Detroit, Michigan in a 10-round bout in Fresno, California this Saturday, November 9th on ESPN+ in America. Pulev last fought in March when he stopped Bogdan Dinu in the seventh round of a slugfest. Booker last fought in June when he stopped Dieuly Aristilde in the third round.
The 38-year-old Pulev has won seven straight fights since being stopped by Wladimir Klitschko in the fifth round of their meeting in November of 2014, which has been his only career loss as a pro. Pulev’s a former 2008 Olympian who enjoyed a fine amateur career and now owns a pro record of 27-1 with 14 Kos. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 193 rounds since. Pulev really isn’t a knockout artist by any means but has good power with a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent.
Pulev stands stands just over 6-feet-4-inches tall and has a reach of 80 inches. Most North American fans may not know much about him, but he stopped Alexander Dimitrenko in 11 rounds in May of 2012 for the European title and then stopped Alexander Ustinov in the same round four months later. He also beat the aging Tony Thompson by a unanimous decision in 2013 and stopped Joey Abell the same year. Pulev also has wins over the likes of Hughie Fury, Samuel Peter, Michael Sprott, Dominick Guinn, Derric Rossy, Matt Skelton, Travis Walker and Zack Page.
The big Bulgarian has good boxing skills and understands the importance of distance and timing but doesn’t really have the power to stop skilled opponents and often has to go the distance. Since turning pro he’s also won the European Heavyweight Title twice as well as the IBF International Heavyweight Crown and the WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. He may be underrated by many but he is 38 years old and is just starting to make a name for himself in America.
Booker is also 38 years old and he enters the bout with a mark of 26-2 with 13 Kos. He turned pro back in 2001 after an excellent amateur career with several cruiserweight titles to his name and was once rated the top amateur heavyweight in America. He built up a 22-1 record as a pro by 2004 with his only loss coming at the hands of James Toney by unanimous decision in a shot at the vacant WBC Continentals America and vacant IBA Heavyweight Crowns.
However, he then ran afoul of the law and was jailed from Sept. 9, 2005 to Aug. 9, 2017 for possession of cocaine and intent to deliver more than 1000 grams. He started his comeback in February of 2018 with a sis-round unanimous decision over Rodney Moore and since then he’s also earned six-round unanimous decisions over Terrell Woods and Domonic Jenkins while dropping a 10-round unanimous decision to Jermaine Franklin.
Booker’s 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 79-inch reach so gives up just over an inch in height to Pulev along with an inch in reach. Booker has great boxing skills and isn’t really known as a banger with a current knockout ratio of 46.4 per cent. He’s obviously not going to benefit from such a long layoff but hasn’t looked too bad so far since making his return to the ring. Before being incarcerated he beat the likes of Art Jimmerson, Uriah Grant, Andrew Greeley and Arthur Williams.
Prediction…
Pulev’s a solid pro with a decent chin and perhaps underrated power. He’s pretty durable and usually wears his opponents down over time. Booker was once a top prospect who threw it all away but is now continuing where he left off. All the odds are against him but this should be an intriguing fight and one that Pulev can’t afford to lose. I expect a good scrap with Pulev coming out on top.
