The troubling thing is, he lost the first 4 rounds, looked confused and was very inactive during those early rounds. Pulev then looked reasonably good cause Thompson was tired and stopped fighting, instead only looking for the lucky counter to stop Pulev. I half suspect Pulev would have lost this fight if Thompson hadn't dissapeared due to his bad conditioning.
tony thompson even made wlad look bad, in the second fight wlads jab was still negated he realized, adapted and used the right more. Price was seen as one of the best prospects, and tt made him look bad, he tried everything against pulev, walking him down something price couldn't handle, but Pulev survived the thunderstorm and even threw some great rights, great jabs once he figured tt out.
Great points. Although, it's important to note that the jab was having success after the first few rounds- just not at the level that Pulev usually relies on it. There were multiple times where Tony wanted to come inside and the jab disrupted him. He adapted very well once he figured out how he wanted to mount his offense. And, outside of the round where Tony changed strategy and roughed him up (7th I believe, could be wrong), he neutralized Thompson's offense.
What makes you think Haye would dare to engage Pulev.:huh This isnt DelBoy winging punches that Haye could slip, parry and counter. Pulev has ZERO jab tonight. Absolutely none. Yet he adapted and began throwing the lead R hand and when he felt comfortable taking Tonys L hand, he bagan going in for the kill. Thomspon has a much sturdier frame than Haye. And likely takes a better shot. Not saying Pulev would beat Haye, but judging by this performance, I would say the betting line would be as close to even as we've seen in a long while.:think
I thought Tony won the first 2 rounds clearly. The 3rd, I scored to Thompson, but it was much closer and could've went either way. The 4th was clearly a Pulev round, and I only scored one round for Tony the rest of the way out. The Tiger's conditioning let him down tonight, but it looked to me like Pulev had him figured out before he gassed.
Pulev is a good fighter, but a few things i noticed which he may need to sort our for the wlad, This content is protected he does keep his arms out although this is good to keep distance, and he does keep the arms low, both arms low, he uses one arm to keep range and sticks it out and other arm low, i can see wlad hitting him with the jab, a fast jab, his arms arnt really there to block, he normally goes back uses his foot movement to negate a shot, maybe just needs to tighten that defense as tt did get some shots through. One more thing, maybe needs to be a little bit more active, not only throw the left and the right, maybe throw more combos as it will keep wlad guessing, although he did through some in this fight, just want to see a bit more. i still think he needs an uppercut when a fighter gets close or clinches. needs a good hook, but he did use it in his prevous fights This content is protected very good at keeping distance - good chin -great jab was even landing against a south paw -great right hes definitely gonna fight wlad next because you dont get title shots easily and he is mandatory is he ready for wlad, NO, although he needs some fine tuning, he might aswell give it a go, with serous training he could do it, but it is against all odds, he will have to dig deep to win
This. It is astonishing that the same guys who degrade and disrespect those who earn their shots will turn around and hype the Deontay Wilders, Seth Mitchels, Amir Mansours, and even Joe Hanks of the world. Pulev has an excellent, excellent heavyweight record. In 18 fights he has beaten Thompson, Ustinov, Dimentrenko, Skelton, Sprott, Rossy, Guinn, Vidoz. Page, Oloukun, and Walker. HE HAS FOUGHT ONLY 2 FIGHTERS WITH LOSING RECORDS. Pulev has earned his shot, and anyone who does not understand that is a bonafide idiot.
He's absolutely earned it, and even if someone wasn't a fan of his, I don't see how he doesn't merit at least a top 5 rating. Props for pointing out the resume, too- even I didn't realize he'd only fought 2 losing fighters.
I don't think he lost the 4th round, and I don't think he was confused - Thompson has a weird style for an orthodox fighter and good power in his left hand. I think he was being cautious, rather than confused, he seemed like he was studying Thompson's movement and once he felt comfortable enough started unloading on him(in the 4th round and on). Think about it... if you are the younger guy fighting an older but powerful and awkward fighter who's will most probably wane as the fight goes on, why would you risk getting floored in the beginning of the fight when the opponent still has all his strenght and stamina and can finish you off if he catches you flush? It's just stupid - ask Price...
One thing that I have noticed is that the referee couldn't control the game at all. They were doing all kinds of dirty tricks and he was doing nothing for that. They were not even listening to him at some point.