His father instilled self-belief and mental strength into his sons, now the Bulgarian is confident of providing an almighty upset
It is not difficult to see from where the broad figure of Kubrat Pulev draws confidence: his father, Venko Pulev, a renowned Bulgarian heavyweight of the 1950s, whose dream was to have sons who would go on to become heavyweight world champions.
“Kubrat” – the name of an old Bulgarian ruler – has the chance on Saturday of beating Anthony Joshua and fulfilling a family prophecy.
Pulev reveals that his late father was a character who instilled self-belief and mental strength into his sons through his own actions.
After five daughters, Venko fathered sons, Kubrat and then Tervel. The younger brother won Olympic bronze for Bulgaria at the London 2012 Games.
As the powerful figure of Kubrat works out in the gym ahead of what he is calling his “greatest challenge” against Joshua, he tells the story of how his father had refused to buckle under Soviet rule. The old boy might have been in the police force, but he was his own man.
“My father was a policeman who traded in Western books when they were banned under the Soviet system,” Pulev explains. “He had them hidden away behind a false wall in the house. He loved reading all the great writers from the West. He was in love with literature. He loved Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and so many others.”
In his spare time, Venko gathered the books of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, and great modern writers and traded them with others who shared the illicit pleasure, banned under the Soviet occupation.
“Although the police came to check, he was never caught. But he would read everything and refused to be held back,” explains Pulev, 39, relishing his father’s rebelliousness and bucking of the system. “He loved reading all the great writers from the West. He had hundreds of Western books and he loved the stories of all the great writers. He was an interesting man and it was my father who had a love of boxing and got me into it.”
Pulev certainly has the same presence, power and obstinacy about him in the ring, and this week, he explains, he feels reunited with the wishes of his father, as he prepares to walk into the ring with Joshua’s International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association, and World Boxing Organisation belts on the line in front of a crowd of 1,000 at Wembley Arena. The pair were due to meet three years ago at the Millennium Stadium in front of 80,000 before Pulev pulled out with an injury.
From the age of 12, Pulev was urged on by his father. He became a world-class amateur – gold in the European Championships, bronze in the World Championships. He then amassed a 29-fight professional record, with a solitary defeat coming six years ago against Wladimir Klitschko. Pulev believes his father would be bursting with pride this week.
“This was my late father’s dream. That is why me and my brother are here. His project was to have sons, and for them to become boxing champions. And we are now real, and this is now fact. He looks down from above and I’m sure he’s happy. He wants to win on Saturday night with me.
“But this fight is not only for me. This fight isn’t just for boxing. It is for all of Bulgaria. Nobody from my country has ever been heavyweight champion of the world. That’s why it will be so good for my country and my people. Bulgarian fans will be really happy.”
Pulev, a chess addict, has been playing Jenga inside the Matchroom Boxing bubble opposite Wembley Arena and believes he can topple Joshua by exploiting the fact his rival is “technically not so good”.
“He’s strong. He has power, and that power is very dangerous. But I am technically better and I think this is very important in this fight. We see a lot of mistakes from Anthony. A lot of bad sides to him. I think these mistakes, and the bad sides, have stayed. When I am good, I beat him well.
“Right now, I feel very good, strong and powerful. Of course, he’s a good fighter, he is very dangerous. But I’m a danger to him, too, because I am very strong. We will see how Joshua performs. I don’t know what to expect from him. It doesn’t matter to me. For me, it’s only important what I do in the ring and how I prepare.
“How is my strategy … how is my boxing – this is what is important. I have a lot of experience and I also learnt from the Klitschko fight. Whatever happens, I think it will be a great fight.
“I have the motivation to make the dream come true, for me and my father. I love fighting. My heart, in this moment, feels alive and I am ready to do it. Honestly, for me it would not be a shock to beat him on Saturday night.
“I feel healthy and happy. I have a lot of energy. I think after this fight I’m going to fight with Tyson Fury,” adds Pulev.
He has already defeated Fury’s cousin, Hughie Fury, who is also on Saturday’s card, facing Mariusz Wach, the former world title challenger.
“I don’t believe that the Joshua versus Fury fight is going to happen in 2021 because I will win on Saturday. I think the world needs a new world champion like me. I am coming for those belts, and I intend to be the new world champion.”
Joshua v Pulev, live on Sky Box Office on Saturday