Kubrat Pulev is 44 and still a stubborn old unit. He nicked the WBA belt off Manuel Charr last December and he has never pretended to be something he is not. High guard. Heavy jab. Slow grind. He has stood in with Klitschko, Joshua, the lot. That kind of wear does not fake itself.
Gassiev is a different animal altogether. Thirty-two. Former unified cruiserweight champion. Thick-set and angry with his punches. Since shifting up, he has not wasted rounds. Kem Ljungquist was gone in five. Jeremiah Milton did not last the summer. He is hunting one thing now. To be the first Russian heavyweight champion since Povetkin held this same belt years back.
This fight does not need selling at ringside. Pulev wants time and space. Gassiev wants early damage. One of those plans usually collapses by the middle rounds.
The whole card starts at 2pm UK time (GMT) on Friday. That works out as 9am ET and 6am PT in the USA, with every fight streaming live on DAZN.
Friday’s undercard
Maxi Hughes steps straight into an unbeaten Bakhodur Usmonov in a WBA lightweight eliminator that could wreck either man’s plans. Tulani Mbenge puts his IBO welterweight belt on the line against unbeaten Vadim Musaev. Proper risk. No comfort fights.
Event details
IBA Pro 13
- Date: Friday, December 12, 2025
- Start time: 9:00 AM ET | 2:00 PM UK
- Streaming: Live on DAZN
- Venue: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai
Main card highlights
- Kubrat Pulev vs Murat Gassiev, WBA heavyweight world title
- Bakhodur Usmonov vs Maxi Hughes, WBA lightweight title eliminator
- Yoel Finol vs Shakhobidin Zoirov 2, IBA Pro world bantamweight title
- Khariton Agrba vs Nerii Muñoz 2, WBA super-lightweight title eliminator
- Vadim Musaev vs Tulani Mbenge, welterweights