Kubrat Pulev has been crowned “regular” WBA heavyweight champion in his native Bulgaria. The “Cobra” won unanimously on points against Mahmoud Charr.
It was the second attempt last Saturday, and this time everything fell into place for Kubrat Pulev. After the 43-year-old Bulgarian was supposed to fight Mahmoud Charr for his title as “regular” WBA world champion at the end of March , the eagerly awaited duel finally took place a good eight months later in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
Plus for laps and fitness
In the end, Pulev triumphed in front of 11,000 fans in his home town, winning unanimously on points against the 40-year-old “Diamond Boy”. The scores were 117-111 twice and 116-112. Pulev deservedly won the most rounds on the scorecards and also scored with his better physical condition.
Pulev extended his fight record to 32-3-0 (14 knockouts). For Charr, it was the fifth defeat (34-5-0, 20 knockouts) of his professional career. The man from Cologne lost a fight for the first time since 2015 , but has only been in the ring seven times since then.
Pulev: Late success in title fight
The WBA’s “Super Champ” in the person of Oleksandr Usyk is still enthroned above the new “regular” champ Pulev. On paper, trainer Ulli Wegner’s protégé has now put himself in a good starting position to challenge the winner of the upcoming rematch between Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Pulev had already fought twice for major heavyweight titles: he was knocked out by Wladimir Klitschko in the fifth round in 2014 and stopped by Anthony Joshua in the ninth round in 2020. Pulev suffered a further setback in 2022 when he lost his rematch against Derek Chisora by split decision.
Duel against “Super Champ”?
The WBA has been repeatedly ridiculed for its flood of titles in recent years, but has recently been able to reduce the number of secondary belts. Nevertheless, the “regular” heavyweight title has existed for years. That would change if the WBA ordered a fight between Pulev and the winner of Usyk vs. Fury II – or if the winner of that mega-fight gave up his WBA “super” title rather than face Pulev. In this case, the Bulgarian would even become the federation’s primary titleholder.
In the run-up to the Pulev vs. Charr fight, there was a scandal in Sofia. When playing the German anthem for Charr, the organizer accidentally played the first (“Deutschland, Deutschland über alles”) instead of the third verse of the Germany song. “Something like that shouldn’t happen, especially at such highlights,” an otherwise proud Ulli Wegner told the German Press Agency.
Text: Frank Schwantes
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