On Saturday night in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city, Hughie Fury (21-1, 11 KO’s) has the opportunity to claim the biggest scalp of his career when he tackles the accomplished-but-ageing Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KO’s) on away soil.
Whoever emerges triumphant will be designated the IBF’s number one contender, and considering the organisation’s notorious stringency with their rankings, it is highly likely that the winner will be mandated to face Anthony Joshua sooner rather than later.
Indeed, Pulev – the marginal favourite against Fury – was originally scheduled to challenge Anthony Joshua a year ago in Cardiff before sustaining a back injury, and was promptly replaced by Carlos Takam, who produced a game effort before being stopped in the tenth round.
Meanwhile, Fury compiled a record of 20-0 before suffering his first loss a year ago to Joseph Parker, in a thoroughly messy affair ultimately determined by a somewhat dubious majority-decision verdict in favour of the then-defending WBO champion from Auckland.
Like Fury, Pulev is also a former World title challenger whose sole defeat was dramatically inflicted by Wladimir Klitschko in November 2014. The Bulgarian started the bout in aggressive fashion, ostensibly rocking Klitschko with a jab, but was floored multiple times for his troubles en route to a fifth-round knockout loss.
Despite the loss four years ago, Pulev is still held in high regard and is still perceived as one of the division’s foremost contenders, as evidenced by his invariably lofty positions in official and unofficial rankings.
Stockport-born Fury is nevertheless hoping to capitalise on his physical advantages to resurrect his World title aspirations, silencing both skeptics back home and the raucous Sofia crowd that surely awaits him, in the process.
The Bulgarian, a popular sports figure in his homeland, is the stereotypical well-schooled European heavyweight. The Cobra is a sturdy, solid operator with physical strength, good timing and arguably one of the best left jabs in the division. He will also enjoy home advantage; something which has also been cited as a potentially decisive factor in this context
There have been repeated murmurings that this bout could represent a case of ‘right time, wrong place’ for Fury; that he once again could be on the receiving end of contentious scorecards. He will no doubt be determined to ensure that does not happen again, by securing a win inside the distance.
Contrary to popular belief, Fury has always possessed deceptive power typical of a big heavyweight, and is now seemingly punching with renewed spite, as evidenced by his fifth round stoppage victory over Sam Sexton in May to capture the British title in Bolton
There is a common belief that Fury could be simply far too mobile and busy for the Bulgarian throughout the early rounds, and as the gulf in sheer athleticism and activity becomes more apparent towards the latter stages of a messy fight, so will Pulev’s vulnerabilities.
Expect the away fighter to win on points, if Pulev does not get stopped late…
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________