By Ian S Palmer
Heavyweight hopeful Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria returns to the ring this Saturday, July 9th when he meets fellow veteran Dereck Chisora of Zimbabwe in a rematch at the O2 Arena in London, England. The 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Pulev last fought a couple of months ago in May when he beat Jerry Forrest by a 10-round unanimous decision. Chisora last saw action in December when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Joseph Parker in a rematch and was decked in the seventh and eighth rounds. Pulev and Chisora first met in May, 2016 with Pulev taking a 12-round split decision for the vacant EBU European Heavyweight Title.
Pulev recently turned 41 years old and before being stopped by Anthony Joshua in the ninth round in December, 2020 had won eight straight fights since being stopped by Wladimir Klitschko in the fifth round in November, 2014. In fact, those two attempts at winning a heavyweight title are the only two defeats Pulev has suffered in his pro career and he enters the ring this weekend with a mark of 29-2 with 14 Ko’s.
Pulev’s a former 2008 Olympian who enjoyed a fine amateur career. He made his pro debut in 2009 and has fought 292 rounds since. He isn’t really known as a knockout artist by any means but has decent power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 45.2 per cent. Pulev actually fought former UFC Champion Frank Mir last December in a mixed-martial arts contest and stopped him in the first round.
The big Bulgarian stands just over 6-feet-4-inches tall with a 79.5-inch reach. He stopped Alexander Dimitrenko in 11 rounds in May, 2012 for the European Heavyweight Title and then stopped Alexander Ustinov in the same round four months later. He also beat the aging Tony Thompson by unanimous decision in 2013 and stopped Joey Abell the same year. He also has wins over Hughie Fury, Samuel Peter, Michael Sprott, Dominick Guinn, Derric Rossy, Matt Skelton, Travis Walker and Zack Page.
Pulev has good boxing skills and understands the importance of distance and timing but doesn’t really have the one-punch power to stop skilled opponents and often has to go the distance. Since turning pro he’s 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 since he’s now 41 years old but still seems to possess enough skills and power to compete.
The 38-year-old Chisora fights out of England and climbs into the ring with a mark of 32-12 with 23 Kos. He lost twice to Dillian Whyte as he was stopped in the 11th round of a slugfest in December, 2018 and dropped a 12-round split decision to him two years earlier. He’s also lost twice to Tyson Fury as he was halted after 10 rounds in 2014 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision in 2011. And most recently, he lost for the second time to former heavyweight titleholder Joseph Parker.
His other losses came via a fifth-round TKO to David Haye in 2012, a unanimous decision to world champ Vitali Klitschko five months earlier and a 12-round split decision to Robert Helenius three months before that for three straight defeats. Chisora was also beaten by Pulev in May, 2017 and by Agit Kabayel via a majority decision in November, 2017 and dropped a unanimous decision to Oleksandr Usyk in October, 2020.
Chisora stands just over 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 74-inch wingspan which sees him give up 2.5-inches inches in height and 5.5-inches in reach to Parker. Chisora may be more skilled than people give him credit for as he can throw decent combinations when he’s in a rhythm but often leaves himself exposed to counter shots. His biggest wins have been over the likes of Artur Szpilka, Carlos Takam, Malik Scott and Kevin Johnson.
As a pro, Chisora has captured the WBA International and WBO International, WBA Inter-Continental and British Heavyweight Titles. He has plenty of experience against top-notch opposition but has usually fallen short when stepping up in class with the exception being against Takam. He’s boxed 292 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and owns a 52.3 per cent knockout ratio. When he’s motivated he can be pretty exciting by giving and taking all night long and can be a handful for anybody on the world stage but he sometimes runs out of steam as the fight goes on.
Prediction…
Pulev has good boxing skills for a big guy and while he isn’t really built for speed he has lost just twice in his career. He’s proven to be more than a handful for most opponents and the same can be said of Chisora despite his record of 12 losses. Chisora has lost three fights in a row but was competitive in all of them and arguably performed better against Oleksandr Usyk than Anthony Joshua did. No outcome will be a surprise here at this stage of their careers as it’s a tossup. But I’m sort of leaning towards Chisora if he can land something big early on before he starts to wear down.
