Wladimir with tough test against Pulev

By Boxing News - 11/15/2014 - Comments

By Allan Fox: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 53 KOs) will be taking on what could be one of his toughest tests in quite some time when he defends his belt against unbeaten Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs) this Saturday night at the O2 World arena in Hamburg, Germany.

The Klitschko vs. Pulev fight will be televised by HBO at 4:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Pulev, 33, is a Bulgarian with a ton of amateur experience, but not much experience at the pro level. To be sure, Pulev has beaten the likes of Alexander Dimitrenko, Tony Thompson and Alexander Ustinov. However, Pulev hasn’t faced the younger heavyweights contenders like Deontay Wilder, Dereck Chisora, Tyson Fury, Bryant Jennings, Mike Perez or former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin.

Those guys are arguably more dangerous than the fighters that Pulev has beaten at the pro level. Without much in the way of experience, we’re going to find out if Pulev is up to the task when he gets inside the ring with the 6’6” Wladimir.

The Pulev fight is going to be the first fight for Wladimir on his new 3-fight contract with HBO. Wladimir will be looking to make his 17th consecutive defense, which would put him only behind Joe Louis’ 25 defenses and Larry Holmes’ 20.

“I want to outclass that person, Pulev and everyone else I fight,” Wladimir said via Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. “I don’t want to give him a chance to do anything and I want to knock my opponent out any time I want.”

The chances are high that Wladimir will end up outclassing Pulev tomorrow night. Pulev doesn’t have much in the way of punching power, and the best thing he seems to have in his favor is his jabbing ability. However, Wladimir has an even better jab than Pulev, and he’s got far better power in either hand. Unless Pulev is able to find some power on Saturday night then he’s going to take a bad beating.



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