It’s been more than six years since Mahmoud Charr won his world title. Now the heavyweight is defending his WBA belt for the first time
It has been more than six years since Mahmoud Charr won his WBA world title. Now the heavyweight will defend his boxing belt for the first time: Charr will step into the ring against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulew on March 30, the organizers announced on Friday. The venue is the Bulgarian capital Sofia. A heated away duel awaits the German professional boxer with Syrian-Lebanese roots, who has been living in Dubai for some time.
Nevertheless, Charr sees himself as the clear favorite. “Kubrat was a great amateur boxer and also fought good fights as a professional,” said the 39-year-old at a press conference in Bulgaria: “But when he comes under pressure, he collapses.” However, Pulew should not be underestimated. The 42-year-old has already fought Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua for the heavyweight world championship, but lost both times prematurely.
“I will be facing a very serious opponent who, like me, has a lot of experience,” emphasized Pulew. Charr has “a lot of tough fights behind him. I approach the training process with absolute respect and reverence for my opponent.”
Charr won his WBA title in 2017 against the Russian Alexander Ustinov. Since then, he has had several title defenses, but these have always fallen through. In the meantime, Charr was even stripped of his world championship belt. However, following a lawsuit by Charr and his team, the World Boxing Association awarded the title back to the Beirut-born fighter.
