For five rounds, Murat Gassiev managed to make 44-year-old Kubrat Pulev look like the fresher and sharper fighter, such was the Russian’s lethargic, uninspired and ineffective performance. Then, like a bolt from the blue, Gassiev’s left hook crashed into the Bulgarian’s jaw, producing a sensational knockout. In the main event of the Dubai card titled “IBA Pro 13”, Gassiev captured the WBA heavyweight title. We hesitate, however, to call it a “world” title, given the existence of a “Super Champion,” namely Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk.
The first round looked less like a professional boxing session and more like an advertisement for a dance class for seniors. Gassiev barely threw a punch, while Pulev limited himself to sporadic and unconvincing left jabs.
Things did not improve much in the second round, once again won with minimal effort by the Bulgarian, who only needed to flick out his left hand from time to time to outshine an opponent so static and stiff that he looked almost mummified.
In the third and fourth rounds, some signs of awakening finally came from Gassiev, but his pace remained far too low to seriously trouble his opponent. The Russian puncher landed a few decent body uppercuts, yet his attacks were always too isolated to shift the momentum of the fight.
The fifth round was by far Kubrat Pulev’s best. He extended his lead by increasing the intensity of his offense, throwing not only the jab but also a significant number of straight right hands. Gassiev absorbed them with apparent ease, but failed to find the timing and coordination to respond effectively.
After losing the first five rounds while accomplishing very little, “Iron” unleashed his winning weapon: that diabolical left hook which, during his glory days at cruiserweight, had so often allowed him to settle fights in a split second.
Once again, that was exactly what happened. At the start of the sixth round, Gassiev detonated a brutal left hook that sent Pulev crashing to the canvas in a clear state of confusion. The Bulgarian, perhaps due to a bizarre nervous reaction, began laughing while unsuccessfully trying to get back to his feet, and was rightly stopped by referee Rafael Ramos.
Celebrations then erupted in the winner’s camp, and with this victory Gassiev can legitimately hope for major opportunities at the top of the division. There are solid reasons to believe that the Russian fighter could soon be targeted by British prospect Moses Itauma, should the latter manage to defeat American Jermaine Franklin Jr. on January 24.
While Gassiev showed that he has retained his famed power and can be lethal at any moment of a fight, he will need far greater consistency, sharpness and responsiveness than he displayed last night if he hopes to trouble the world’s best heavyweights. They are highly unlikely to gift him a lapse as serious as the one committed by Kubrat Pulev.