Kubrat Pulev has the surprise chance to become world heavyweight champion next month, when he takes on the unlikely champion in the division.
Pulev outpointed Andrzej Wawrzyk over ten rounds in December last year, which followed his split decision defeat to Dereck Chisora at the O2 Arena in 2022. However, since his stoppage defeat to Anthony Joshua back in 2020, the 42-year-old has had just four fights.
Now, returning to Sofia, where he last fought Hughie Fury in 2018 – beating the Brit by wide margins over 12 rounds – Pulev, refusing to call it quits on his career just yet, will be determined to have another successful outing in front of his home fans.
He will now turn his attention to Mahmoud Charr, challenging him for the WBA regular heavyweight title on March 30 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Charr was reinstated as the WBA regular champion last year, after a legal battle that involved the sanctioning body and Don King – who promoted Trevor Bryan for his unsuccessful defence of the title against Daniel Dubois – came to a verdict.
While the WBA’s belt reduction plan is ongoing – aiming to remove interim and regular belts from each division – the legal dispute has led them to give Charr his title back, which he previously fought for in 2017, beating Alexandr Ustinov.
The German’s last professional bout was in December 2022, when he beat Nuri Seferi via a second-round stoppage.
Charr has not fought outside of Germany since 2015, and will almost certainly be met with a volatile reception as soon as he steps foot on away soil.
The last time he fought on away territory, in fact, was against former world cruiserweight champion Maris Briedis, who comprehensively stopped him in the fifth round.