by Johnny Walker
HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: KUBRAT PULEV
“Kubrat who?,” I can hear some of you saying. Well, you won’t be saying that for much longer.
Of all the top tier heavyweights this year, it was talented Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KOs) who made the most progression. He took out the durable Brit Michael Sprott, then faced giant Ukrainian-born German Alexander Dimitrenko for the European heavyweight title. Dimitrenko’s sole loss going into the fight was a majority decision dropped to slick American Eddie Chambers in 2009, but Pulev gave him a thorough beating, with six-foot-seven-inch tall Dimitrenko going down and counted out from a stiff Pulev jab, no less, at the end of round eleven.
Pulev then went on to humiliate another giant, the nearly six-foot-eight inch tall undefeated Russian Alexander Ustinov, giving him a convincing beating that resulted in the bloodied challenger surrendering after a quick flurry from Pulev put him down early in round eleven.
With these dominant wins over bigger men, Pulev, himself no midget at nearly six-foot-five inches tall, has thus prepared himself well for the eventual task of facing one of the world champion Klitschko brothers. Pulev’s not a showy fighter (he saves that for his life outside of the ring –he is known as a prankster and dates sexy Bulgarian pop diva Andrea), but, with his extensive amateur experience, he is as solid as they come, his greatest strength perhaps being his ability to remain patient and calm no matter what the situation is in the ring. Unlike many others who make the journey, Pulev truly looks at home when he steps into the squared circle.
Look for Kubrat Pulev to continue his rise to the top in 2013.
HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, RUNNER UP: WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
The true world champion continued to smash all comers in 2012, and Wlad would have topped this list had he been able to find some better competition.
In retrospect, the Klitschko camp’s decision to award to title shot to Jean Marc Mormeck–a former cruiserweight who had already been knocked out by David Haye and who needed a hometown gift to get by Timur Ibragimov–counted against the champion, as the resulting fight was as big a mismatch as it seemed on paper. It’s not a stretch to say that Michael Sprott would have put up much more of a fight than the Frenchman did. It strains credulity to say that Mormeck was the best optional defense the K2 camp could come up with.
Wlad then did his job in a mandated rematch against hapless American Tony Thompson, who really looked as if he wished he were eating donuts back home instead of eating punches in Switzerland. Thompson provided far less in the way of resistance than he did in 2008 during the first match between the two men, perhaps as a result of the fact that was now 40 years old instead of 36, the champion’s current age.
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Originally Posted by Freedom
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