Kubrat Pulev vs. Dereck Chisora: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction
Despite one ridiculous scorecard fromย Beat Hausammann, Kubrat Pulev (23-1) scored an easy victory over Dereck "Del Boy" Chisora (25-6) on Saturday in Hamburg, Germany. Pulev earned the vacant European heavyweight title with the victory.
Thanks to Hausamman's card, Pulev had to settle for a split-decision victory when it should have been unanimous.
Officially, Hausammann'sย card was 115-113 in favor of Chisora, and the two judges who actually saw the fight scored it 116-112 and 118-110 for Pulev, perย BoxRec.com. Tom Craze of Bad Left Hook pulled no punches when criticizing Hausammann'sย scorecard:
Pulev's jab controlled the entire fight, and Chisora's face showed the effects of it. His right eye was badly swollen, and it appeared he could only see out of the left by the end of the bout.ย
The Bulgarian isn't known as a big puncher, and that's a good thing for Chisora. With a little more weight on his shots, he could have stopped Del Boy during the middle rounds.
By Round 6, Chisora was thoroughly frustrated by Pulev's long jab and right hands. The punches had been finding their mark throughout the fight. That method of attack kept the smaller Chisora at bay and stifled the 32-year-old Brit's attempts to close the distance.
Chisora badly needed to get inside, but he didn't have the work rate or the head movement to slip Pulev's punches to gain entry. By the final three rounds, Chisora seemed content to just go the distance.
Laceupย Boxing added perspective toย Chisora's loss:
For whatever reason, Chisora has maintained a decent level of popularity within the British boxing community. This is a guy who once lost three fights in a row to Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. He's lost six times in 31 fights,ย and he's never beaten anyone of note.
His best win was a controversial TKO victory over Malik Scott in 2013.
Still, Laceup Boxing is correct; he would have probably gotten a shot at Joshua had he taken an easier bout and built up a solid win streak. As it stands, his modest win streak is over at five, and he's been exposed yet again as a mediocre heavyweight.
Pulev is obviously a bit better. He's the former IBF heavyweight champion, but he's still not going to be confused with one of the elite fighters in the division.
He's now won three fights in a row since losing his title to Wladimir Klitschko via fifth-round stoppage in November 2014. The victory over Chisora was a solid win for Pulev, and he could parlay his European Championship into a shot at a world title soon.
Still, no matter who he faces in his next shot at a title, he'll probably be an underdog. In any case, he deserves to enjoy his dominant victory.
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