After the heavy loss in Dubai to the new world champion Murat Gasiev, Bulgarian boxer Kubrat Pulev found the strength for a few words:
"I feel great! Thank you to the people who supported me. Boxing is - one punch can decide everything, as it happened. We have to be precise. With these small gloves, there's no way", said the Cobra.
"Unfortunately, I'm angry that I couldn't make the Bulgarians happy, but the Olympic principle is important - we came, we played, we tried. "Thank you all for the constant support," he added to bTV.
His brother Tervel Pulev added:
"Up until this point, before the punch, he was playing perfectly. He was playing like a professor. It's not football or basketball. One punch ends the match."
Kubrat Pulev failed to defend the regular world title of the World Boxing Association (WBA) in heavyweight. He was knocked out in the sixth round by Russian Murat Gasiev, who knocked him to the ground with a powerful left hook.
For the 44-year-old Pulev, this is his fourth defeat in 36 matches in the professional ring, as he also has 32 victories. Gasiev, who is 12 years younger, already has 33 wins in 36 matches, and this was his 26th knockout in the professional ring.
The match in Dubai started relatively calmly, with the first round dominated by Pulev, who managed to land several body shots and prevent counterattacks. The second round brought a slight activation of Gasiev, but the Bulgarian remained under control.
The game became more dynamic after the third round, when both boxers began to land more powerful blows. Pulev preferred series of left and right, while Gasiev lurked his strong hits. The fifth round was the most contested, with a number of heavy blows from both boxers.
At the beginning of the sixth round, Gasiev launched a right-left combination, with the second blow landing a decisive left hook to Pulev's chin. The Bulgarian fell to the floor and seconds later the referee stopped the fight.
Source: topsport.bg