Kubrat Pulev Boxer Profile

Kubrat Pulev is a world-class heavyweight who has featured in several high-profile contests yet never made it over the line as a bonafide professional world champion. Born on May 4, 1981, as an amateur, Pulev represented Bulgaria at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, losing to future pro contender Oscar Rivas. Later that year, Pulev won super-heavyweight gold at the European Championships. 

Pulev’s career has not passed without controversy. In 2019, after the Sofia native had defeated Bogdan Dinu, he ended a post-fight interview with female reporter Jenny “SuShe” Ravalo by kissing and grabbing her without consent. Ravalo took legal action, which ended in Pulev attending a sexual harassment prevention class.

In November 2021, Pulev won a match by first-round knockout in the bizarre ‘Triad Combat’ initiative, where fighters competed in a triangular-shaped “ring”. Kubrat’s younger brother, Tervel, is also a pro fighter, competing at cruiserweight.

Kubrat Pulev turned professional in Germany in September 2009. Pulev has been promoted and handled by American-based Bulgarian manager Ivaylo Gotzev of Epic Sports Entertainment throughout his career. Pulev fought exclusively in Europe, mainly Germany, during the early stages of his career, winning the European title in 2012, knocking out Alexander Dimitrenko.

Pulev also won the IBF International heavyweight title in that contest, eventually leading him to a shot at unified king Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Pulev approached the contest with more ambition than many of Klitschko’s opposition, firing off heavy shots, even briefly rocking the champion before getting knocked out in round five for his audacity.

Pulev reclaimed the European title with a 2016 split decision win over Derek Chisora. He had a string of fights back home in Bulgaria, including a win over former world title challenger Hughie Fury, which reportedly piqued the interest of Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who signed Pulev to a co-promotional agreement in 2018, leading to a couple of Stateside fights and a 2020 shot at Anthony Joshua in Wembley.

The fight took place during the Covid pandemic and Pulev was reportedly unwell in the lead-up. Dropped three times in total, the Bulgarian was stopped in round nine by AJ. Since that event, Pulev, now over 40 years old, has only engaged in one significant fight, losing a rematch to Derek Chisora in 2022. Promoter Ivaylo Gotzev has spoken about potential fights between his client and both Joe Joyce and Tyson Fury over recent years, but neither came to fruition for various reasons.

Otto Ramin

Pulev’s long-time trainer is Otto Ramin, a renowned German coach who also trained Cecilia Braekhus for a time. The pair have been together since Pulev’s professional debut and he once remarked, “Otto is a man who I can talk to on every subject. He is a very down to earth guy and a people person. That’s why we are so close”

While training for his fight against Anthony Joshua in December 2020, Pulev hired American veteran Joe Goossen to add nuance to his approach.