By Ian S Palmer
Veteran heavyweight Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria will be fighting at home in Sofia, when he takes on England’s Hughie Fury in an IBF eliminator this Saturday, October 27th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on ESPN+. Pulev has been out of action since April of 2017 and his scheduled fight against Anthony Joshua was year was called off due to an injury. His last outing was a 12-round unanimous decision over Kevin Johnson when he defended his WBA Inter-Continental Title. Fury’s last contest was in May when he stopped Sam Sexton in the fifth round for Sexton’s British Heavyweight Championship.
The 37-year-old Pulev has won five 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 25-1 with 13 Kos to his name. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 172 rounds so far. Pulev isn’t a knockout artist by any means and has a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent, but almost any heavyweight can end a fight with one perfect punch.
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 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 lesser skilled opponents and often has to go the distance. And while Pulev is fighting at home in Sofia, this will be just his second pro bout in his homeland. Since turning pro he’s also won the European Heavyweight Title twice as well as the IBF International Heavyweight Crown. He may be underrated by many, but he is 37 years old and isn’t too well known other than in Europe.
Fury is just 24 years old and hasn’t really beaten anybody of note up to now since turning pro in 2013. He’s boxed a total of 109 rounds against the likes of Sexton, Fred Kassi, Dominick Guinn, Larry Olubamiwo, Andriy Rudenko and Matthew Greer. When he did step up in class against Joseph Parker for a shot at his WBO Heavyweight Title in September of 2017 he held his own, but dropped a majority decision. Fury also had a pretty good amateur career, but he’s been mainly successful as a pro due to his size.
Fury, who is the cousin of Tyson Fury, is 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 80-inch wingspan. This gives him a two-inch height advantage over Pulev with the same reach. Along with winning the British Heavyweight Title, Fury has also captured the WBO Inter-Continental Belt. But like his cousin Tyson, he may be mobile in the ring, but often slaps his pity-pat punches instead of letting them go with power. However, his current knockout ratio is the same as Pulev at 50 per cent. He’s displayed a solid chin so far as a pro and isn’t really facing a KO artist in Pulev.
Prediction…
Pulev may have some trouble if Fury decides to box him and stay away from any toe-to-toe action. Fury may not his hard, but he has the ability to win rounds on points. Pulev should be going for a stoppage in this fight as Fury’s chin is basically untested. However, he’s 13 years older than the Englishman and has been out of action for well over a year. This is a tough one to call since I believe Pulev probably has to stop Fury to beat him. He may very well do so, but it’s a big “If.” I think if Fury’s still standing after 12 rounds then he likely takes the decision.
