By Sean McDaniel: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev’s impressive performance against Alexander Ustinov in their IBF heavyweight eliminator bout last weekend put Pulev in line for a shot against IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko next year. But in addition to that, Pulev may have shown the he’s the number #3 heavyweight division just behind #1 Wladimir Klitschko and his brother #2 Vitali Klitschko.

At this point it’s difficult to find a better heavyweight among the rest of the pack than the 6’4 1/2″ Pulev because he’s got a huge amount of skills to go along with his size.

Here’s how I see the heavyweight division ranked right now:

#1 Wladimir Klitschko
#2 Vitali Klitschko
#3 Kubrat Pulev
#4 David Haye
#5 Tomasz Adamek
#6 Tyson Fury
#7 David Price
#8 Alexander Povetkin
#9 Chris Arreola
#10 Derek Chisora
#11 Denis Boytsov
#12 Odlanier Solis
#13 Eddie Chambers
#14 Magomed Adusalomov
#15 Robert Helenius
#16 Seth Mitchell
#17 Mariusz Wach
#18 Alexander Ustinov
#19 Tony Thompson
#20 Bermane Stiverne

Pulev’s jab, which is perhaps the best jab in the entire heavyweight division, is like a power punch. It’s not obviously in the same league a big power shot from the likes of Wladimir, Haye or Stiverne, but it’s still like a decent power shot. When Pulev hits you with that shot it does damage, but what makes Pulev so good is he’s able to jab his opponents over and over again without tiring from the process.

If you compare Pulev to Wladimir in the jabbing department, Wladimir comes out ahead in terms of power on his jabs. However, Wladimir quickly tires when he throws his jabs and he can only jab a small amount of times in each round. He’s not able to jab over and over like Pulev. That’s the difference. Pulev is a lot more consistent. He doesn’t get hit because he uses his height and reach to control his shorter opponents by keeping them on the outside where they can’t land.