It would be remiss to dismiss Kubrat Pulev as a journeyman and a slugger. Anthony Joshua stopped American Heavyweight Kevin Johnson inside two rounds in 2014. It was swift justice after constant pre-fight taunting. When Pulev faced Johnson this April, the fight went the full 12 rounds, winning on points. Two different fighters; Joshua was ruthless, Pulev fought ‘till the end.
Well on the surface anyway. But if Joshua’s style ended Johnson quickly and Pulev was more hard won, that is not a direct transition to Joshua being too strong for Pulev. Different styles, alternative approaches, still got the same result. And when Joshua and his trainer Rob McCracken watch this fight again and again, one thing will stand out. Pulev was relentless.
The Bulgarian will offer more resistance than Johnson and will be unceasing. Added to the fact that for all the ceremony that came with Joshua’s defeat of Wladimir Klitschko in April, there were flaws in his performance. And if McCracken was vocal in an attempt to keep Joshua grounded, there was truth in his fault-finding.
Following yesterday’s announcement, Pulev was unsurprisingly bullish about the fight. ““We will not hug and hold, we will not run; we will stand and fight. His style fits mine perfectly and in boxing, styles make fights. My preparation will be very intense, and I will be perfectly ready when I enter the ring so that he will have no chance to beat me.”
There is nothing here that will prevent Joshua being the odds-on favourite. But Pulev knows how to fight on the fringes and Joshua will need to protect himself well. Pulev will welcome taking some punishment; it’s not all that new to him. But it will be how he exploits chinks in the Londoners defensive armour, whilst on the attack, that could prove problematic.
Nothing will leave Joshua more exposed to this than over-confidence. He will do well to listen closely to McCracken and give a wide berth to a press already alluding to a fight that he will take in his stride.
But who is the man who will travel to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in search of the IBF, WBA and IBO titles?
Nicknamed “The Cobra”, Pulev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in May, 1981. Having won a Bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang, China, three years later he won Gold at the European Championships in Liverpool. However disappointment would follow quickly at that Summer’s Olympics in Beijing, losing in the first round.
The heavyweight has fought 26 fights since turning professional and lost once. The victor? Wladimir Klitschko, in 2015. The failure of that world title challenge didn’t hinder his perseverance. It was his only professional defeat.
Pulev has had two years to develop his defence into something more sophisticated then the inclination to drop his hands, as he did at times to Klitschko. If it is part of his game-plan, it will be more finely tuned come October.
Joshua will too need to make sure that he leaves no stone unturned in his preparation. Because this may well not be the fight people expect it to be.
