Kubrat Pulev is the new holder of the regular world title of the World Boxing Association (WBA) in the heavyweight division, BGNES reported. He defeated the champion Mahmud Char by unanimous decision - 117:111, 117:111 and 116:112 in the three judge's cards.
The beginning was for Bulgaria's boxer, who entered the ring looking to deliver in front of his home crowd in Sofia. He was more active, while his opponent was waiting for his moment. The second round was more for Charr. The Beirut-born boxer landed several good hits, and for all 12,000 in the stands at Arena 8888, the strategy of the two became clear - seeking a close distance for Charr, while the Cobra dictated the pace with his left right and tried, quite often, successful left-right combinations. Kubrat suffered an uppercut that bled him, but that did not divert him from more active actions.
In the fifth round, the Bulgarian's advantage became greater after he opened up an arcade on Charr's face. Pulev increased the pressure in the following minutes, but over time he began to tire. In the end, although he sought the knockout several times, Charr did not have the strength for anything more than a loss by unanimous decision. After the end of the 12th round, Charr landed a dirty blow, which caused a reaction from the Cobra's camp, but everything passed without excesses.
"I want to thank them. This is a dream from my father even before we were born. I am not important. We all have to dream. Thank you for all the love, I return it 10 times, I will never betray a single Bulgarian. Your love for me is not important, I want you to love Bulgaria more, even more. That is why I do everything. I assumed that he would be prepared. I am the classier boxer, I come from the Bulgarian boxing school. I want to thank all the coaches, champions before me, who motivated us to get here. They were all our examples, not only our parents. They are examples for the rising champions. I do not have a world title - Bulgarian boxing and Bulgaria have a world title, long live Bulgaria. I am very happy to bring the world title here to Bulgaria. It was not a very beautiful match, but the most important thing is that we won. I am happy. I respect Mahmоud Charr - do not swear to God, he is one for all of us, just believe. Every day thank God. The next fight will be better than this one. I'm ready for anyone", Kubrat said after the match.
The Bulgarian has recorded now 32 wins in the ring (14 by knockout), with 3 losses. Charr has 34 wins (20 by knockout) and 5 losses. The Syrian with German passport will receive 1 300 000 euros despite his loss, while the Cobra won't collect a paycheck as an organiser.
Thus, Kubrat Pulev is now the regular WBA world champion in the heavyweight division. He is expected to challenge the WBA belt holder, who is currently owned by Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian has an upcoming rematch with Tyson Fury on December 21 in Riyadh. | BGNES
