Pulev was defeated by Joshua but insists 'we will meet again'
Kubrat Pulev has insisted that he will return to face the top fighters in the division after his defeat to Anthony Joshua in December, and is eyeing a fight with British heavyweight Dillian Whyte in addition to a future rematch with his conqueror Joshua.
The Bulgarian suffered a ninth round stoppage defeat to the two-time world champion at the SSE Arena back in 2020, but his promoter insists that he is a fighter and will continue to push to achieve his dream of becoming heavyweight champion in the near future.
Ivaylo Gotzev told Sky Sports of his suffering of a pneumonia stage of coronavirus in the build up to the contest and detailed the message that Pulev left Joshua during the final exchanges of the contest.
He said: “I think what he said was, ‘Remember me, remember me.’ In other words, what he was leading to was, ‘Remember me, you will see me again. I’ll come back. I’ll come back and we’ll meet again.’
“That was, I think the spirit of what he said, and then AJ kind of said what he said. You’ll have to ask him. I cannot speak for AJ, but I know that Kubrat referenced, ‘Remember me, we shall meet again,’ because he knew at that point he was beaten because he didn’t have a full tank.
“He didn’t really have the power or the strength, nor did he have the sparring that he needed in preparation. Once again, not excuses, just facts, and that’s what happened. “He says, ‘No, I’m going through with it, I’m going to fight AJ, and I know I might never get a third chance at this fight ever again.’
“It was too much to lose, not fighting for all those belts. He really believed in himself. He had a shot at cracking through AJ and he tried.
“Within a month prior to the fight, he had Covid. He had to alter his training and quite honestly I thought we were going home.
“Me to the US, him to Bulgaria. He met with doctors and he made a decision. He is standing by his decision. He’s a warrior,” Gotsev explained.
However Gotzev insisted that he is confident Pulev can reach the top of the division once again, and highlighed his current record against British heavyweights could signal a return to take on another heavyweight rival from the UK.
Let's not forget that right now we stand still in a winning column with Kubrat at 2-1 against top British heavyweights," said Gotzev. "I'm referring to Chisora and Hughie Fury, so let's keep the score going.
“Certainly one fight of great interest that I think style-wise and personalities would make for a great clash is Kubrat Pulev versus Dillian Whyte, once he deals with Povetkin.
“Dillian Whyte has been very loud in the past talking about Kubrat and Kubrat feels like he is the perfect mouth he wants to shut. That's a great heavyweight scrap for the future.”
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