Pulev decisioned journeyman Jerry Forrest less than two months on a Triller PPV in his first fight since being stopped in a title challenge against then-champion Anthony Joshua in nine rounds in December 2020 and looked decent enough against Forrest, who most thought had upset contender Michael Hunter in Forrest's previous fight.
Chisora has lost his last three fights but losses to current champion Oleksandr Usyk and two decision defeats to former WBO champion Joseph Parker last year are excusable losses for any heavyweight, especially considering that Chisora lost via split decision in the first fight (scoring a knockdown) and some (including me) thought he won along with showing tons of heart in losing the rematch.
This should be a fun fight with both fighters known for fatiguing over the second half of their matches which means that the late rounds could be Creed-Balboaesque with neither fighter having the energy to move away or it could be six rounds of grab and hold!
The co-feature is a junior middleweight title eliminator and a rematch between Israil Madrimov and Michel Soro after a wild ending to their first battle last December where Madrimov ended a close fight with a ninth-round knockout that saw Madrimov hurt Soro seconds before the bell, the bell ringing to end the round and the referee allowing Madrimov to continue the assault on a dazed Soro before stopping the fight, awarding to Madrimov via TKO.
The result was deservedly changed to a no-contest after an appeal by Soro and the WBA ordered a rematch to determine their mandatory challenger to unified world champion Jermell Charlo.
Showtime's PBC card from San Antonio has the only championship defense of the weekend as Mark Magsayo makes the first defense of his WBC featherweight title against former junior featherweight champion Rey Vargas in the main event of a three-fight telecast.
Magsayo upset long-time champion Gary Russell in his most recent fight to win the title but Russell suffered an injury in the fight and I wonder if Magsayo is a star in the making or someone that caught Russell on a perfect night?
Vargas is undefeated and a former champion at 122 pounds but has fought only once in three years and is a tediously dull performer, although a technically proficient one.
I can see Vargas outboxing Magsayo and winning a less than stimulating decision but it is just as likely that Magsayo wears Vargas down and stops him late as Magasayo was able to do against Julio Ceja in his fight before winning the title.
Either result would not be a surprise to me.
The second fight is an eliminator to determine who will next face the Magsayo-Vargas winner as former WBC junior featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa rises in weight against Carlos Castro.
Figueroa rises in weight after losing his title in an exciting unification fight against Stephen Fulton via majority decision that he could have won (I scored Figueroa a 115-113 winner) and decided to move up rather than chase a Fulton rematch right away.
The once-beaten Castro suffered his first loss in February via a split decision to Luis Nery, the same Nery that Figueroa knocked out in seven rounds in May 2021, so Figueroa should be a strong favorite.
The curtain-jerker will feature highly-touted lightweight Frank Martin in his first step up in class against late replacement Jackson Marinez in a ten-rounder.
Martin looked extremely impressive in stopping Romero Duno in four rounds on New Year's Day and Marinez is a small step up from Duno for the classy prospect.
Marinez is remembered by most for dominating Rolando Romero and getting robbed of the decision in August 2020 but was knocked out in six rounds by Richard Commey in February 2021, which may show that Marinez is a level below world-class.
Still, an impressive win by Martin would be an excellent notch on his resume' at this stage of his career.
The final challenge fight is one that isn't televised in the USA as another junior middleweight eliminator takes place in Russia as Magaomed Kurbanov faces former WBO champion Patrick Teixeira in a WBO-style eliminator.
This was a fight scheduled for last December and Kurbanov fell ill literally minutes before the bout in the locker room with Covid-19.
Kurbanov decisioned Liam Smith last May in a close decision, while Teixeira knocked out Paul Valenzuela in the second round but after Valenzuela put on an acting performance, Teixeira was disqualified in his return to the ring after dropping the WBO title to Brian Castano.
Boxing Challenge
V.S; Chisora KO 8
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