Bulgarian Heavyweight great had no trouble with Alexander Ustinov in Germany
Kubrat Pulev proved his great superiority to lumbering giant Alexander Ustinov today in Germany, retaining his European heavyweight title with an 11th round knockout, and taking a step closer to an IBF world title shot by winning a semi-final eliminator.
Pulev (17-0, 9 KO) didn’t lose a round on the BLH scorecard, leading 100-90 after ten rounds. Ustinov (27-1, 21 KO) may have had an argument to have won the eighth round, but that’s about it. For the vast majority of the fight, he was truly and clearly exposed as a one-dimensional (at best), lumbering fighter whose boxing skills just don’t exist. He’s tough, and he’s a massive man, but he was woefully outclassed by Pulev in this one.
After having his nose bloodied early in the bout, Ustinov developed a cut on his left eyelid to make things worse, as Pulev bashed at his face with jabs and right hands that Ustinov was simply too slow to stop from landing. The big man took some flush shots, but finally on a big left hand in the 11th round, he went down to a knee and sat out the count. He was defeated, and he knew it.
Pulev is now in line to face the winner of a December 22 fight between Tomasz Adamek and Odlanier Solis, if that happens, which would then determine a mandatory challenger for the IBF title, currently held by Wladimir Klitschko.