Klitschko vs. Pulev

By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KO’s) will be making his next defense against 6’4 ½” Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KO’s) on September 6th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany. Pulev is the IBF mandatory challenger, so he gets to be the next guy that the 6’6” Wladimir faces.

Pulev has been bellyaching about wanting a title shot against Wladimir for a while now, and finally has his shot. Unfortunately the odds of him doing any better than Wladimir’s last opponent Alex Leapai are virtually nonexistent, due to Pulev’s complete lack of punching power. At least with Leapai, there was a slight chance he might land one of his big power shots to knock Wladimir out. But with Pulev, he just jabs and slaps with his shots, and he doesn’t have the power to make it a decent fight.

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By Dan Ambrose: K2 Promotions won the purse bid on Tuesday and will be in control of the September 6th fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KO’s) and his IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KO’s). K2 won the purse bid with a $7,250,131 bid in beating the $5,250,144 offered by Pulev’s promoters Sauerland Event.

The fight now must be made within 90 days. The day that K2 is interested in staging the fight is on September 6th in Hamburg, Germany, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.

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By Allan Fox: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KO’s) can forget about a unification fight against WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne, because the International Boxing Federation has ordered a purse bid on June 17th between Wladimir and the Sauerland Events promoted #1 IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KO’s), according to Germany news publication Bild.de.

Wladimir had been hoping to face Stiverne in order to try and capture his older brother Vitali Klitschko’s old WBC heavyweight belt. This is the only remaining title that is not in the possession of Wladimir, and he was hoping to take on the much smaller 6’2” Stiverne to pick up the strap. With the IBF ordering the purse bids between Wladimir and Pulev’s management, it complicates things for Wladimir, because he now has to take on the formidable 6’4 ½” Pulev next in a fight that is tentatively scheduled for September 6th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.

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By Bradley Dee: Yesterday I received a clarification letter from the president of the WBC stating that Bermane Stiverne must face his mandatory challenger unless Deontay Wilder agrees to step aside money.

Today, the WBC Website has the following statement on their news page:
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The desire of Wladimir Klitschko to become the absolute heavyweight champion of the world will have to hang fire… for the moment.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán, said that Wladimir will have to wait for the title shot against current champion Bermane Stiverne, because he first has to face his mandatory rival.

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(Picture: Photo Wende) By Scott Gilfoid: The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has ordered IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KO’s) to face No.1 IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KO’s) next. Wladimir now has to face one of his toughest tests in perhaps 10 years in fighting the 6’4 1/2″ Pulev. I previously thought Pulev had no chance of beating Wladimir, but after seeing the improvement in Pulev’s game in his last two fights, I believe he’s now good enough to possibly beat Wladimir.

This can’t be good news for Wladimir, because Pulev, if nothing else, is a jabbing machine and he could pull off a minor upset in beating the 6’6″ Wladimir. In fact, I see the fight as a 50-50 proposition due to Pulev’s jab, youth, size and excellent body punching. Until recently, Pulev was more of a jabber, but he’s added body punching to his arsenal and that’s made him a much better fighter offensively.

Pulev’s promoter Kalle Sauerland said on his twitter “Confirmed: Klitschko must face Kubrat Pulev next as ordered by the IBF.”

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