Kubrat Pulev TKO 5 Joey Abell, heavyweights
Bulgaria’s Pulev (19-0, 10 KO) has been making a name for himself in the heavyweight division the hard way, either by taking on late-replacements or being one himself. This time he got a last-minute opponent with Sherman Williams cancelled his appearance, and was matched with Germany’s Abell (29-7, 28 KO) instead, who gave him some problems with his southpaw stance until the towering Pulev (6-foot-4, but barely a half-inch taller than his opponent) found a way to score the stoppage when he overwhelmed his opponent with a salvo of punches in round 5. After beating guys like Tony Thompson, Alexander Ustinov and Alexander Dimitrenko, I’d say Pulev should be aiming a bit higher in his next outing.
The winner goes on to: As a European fighter with no fan base, he’d be lucky to get a break against a top contender, anywhere. And if it comes his way, he should take it.
