By James Slater: Unbeaten as a pro and a highly decorated amateur boxer, 30-year-old Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev has been making noises in the heavyweight division for some time now. An immensely strong fighter who has a great engine and seemingly unlimited stamina, “The Cobra” has already beaten good, experienced fighters such as Matt Skelton (KO4), Dominick Guinn (WU8), Paolo Vidoz (WU8), Derric Rossy (TKO5) and, last time out, Travis Walker (WU12).
Pulev may not be the prettiest fighter in the world to watch, nor is he the most lethal puncher, but the 6’4,” approx 250-pounder gets the job done. So far, aside from picking up the odd cut, Pulev has shown no weaknesses. Next up for the IBF international titlist is a scheduled Jan. 14th fight with well-travelled Brit Michael Sprott, 36-17(17).
The fight is set for The Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany (according to Boxrec) and will be a 12-rounder with the IBF strap on the line.
36-year-old Sprott may have seen better days – having lost his last two, including a bout that contested a semi-final of May 2011’s “Prizefighter” tournament, when Sprott lost a decision against Tye Fields – but he gave Alexander Dimitrenko a good argument back in September and the Reading man might just test Pulev in a similar fashion. The former British and Commonwealth champ has been halted some eight times as a pro, but only good fighters have stopped him – and the last stoppage Sprott suffered was that amazing night against Audley Harrison in April of 2010, when “A-Force” actually showed his fighting heart and desire.
Pulev is no banger at 14-0(6), so aside from a wear-his-man-down type stoppage, I can’t see Sprott being halted in this one. Pulev does look too big, too strong and too fresh for the visiting fighter, however.
How good is Pulev? How far can he go? We may not learn too many new things about him in this fight, but Pulev has already caught the attention of the fans. The way he’s going, he’s sure to step up to world level either late this year or early next.
Look for Pulev to either grind out a late-rounds TKO over Sprott, or to win widely on points.
Also on the scheduled card, Arthur Abraham will make his ring return, against Pablo Oscar Natalio Farias and Robert Stieglitz will defend his WBO super-middleweight title against Henry Weber. It should make for an interesting night of boxing in Germany.