Saturday night at Arena Armeec in Sofia, Bulgaria, The Pride of Bulgaria, Kubrat Pulev (26-1, 13 KOs), in his first fight in 18 months, won a wide unanimous decision victory over Huey Fury (21-2, 11 KOs), from Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom.
The final scores were 117-111, 118-110, and 115-113.
With the win Pulev earned a number one ranking and a possible title shot against reigning IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Fighting out of the blue corner in red trunks, 37-year-old Pulev put it together when it mattered. He had won his last five fights since his sole defeat to Wladimir Klitschko in 2014, but many thought, wrongly as it turned out, that his inactivity would hamper him.
Twenty-four-year-old Fury, fighting out of the red corner in white trunks, had youth, size and pedigree on his side. But his natural attributes have not been supported by mastery of the fundamentals, so that his inherent gifts get little or no help due to his failure to properly execute.
Fury started well, using his length and jab and an effective right hand to keep Pulev at bay in the opening round. The Bulgarian drew first blood in round two from a nasty cut above Fury?s left eye that bled profusely. Even though Fury?s corner was able to staunch the flow of blood, the cut may have hampered Fury?s performance.
Pulev took control early and paced himself to go the distance. With more experience against better opponents over many battles and years, he was able to deflect most of Fury?s counters and aggression. The Brit caught Pulev with a flush right hand in round eight, but he failed to capitalize on a momentary bright spot in an otherwise muddled show of force.
