Kubrat Pulev overcomes crisis to stop Bogdan Dinu in California.

Bulgaria’s, IBF Number one ranked heavyweight Kubrat Pulev (27-1, 14 KOs) scored a seventh round KO over Romanian, Bogdan Dinu (18-2, 14 KOs) on Saturday night in the ESPN main event at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. The feature bout took a little time to catch fire, Pulev getting the better of a late exchange in the opening session.. Pulev forced the action in the second, but still failed to find any kind of breakthrough.. Finally in the third the former world title challenger began to establish some authority, backing Dinu up with successive right hands. The Romanian gladly responded in round four, finally letting his hands go, landing a crisp right hand, causing a nasty cut over Pulev’s left eye.
With all still to play for in round five, the cut bled freely, causing some urgency in the Bulgarian corner, Dinu boxed cautiously, as Pulev upped his workrate in an attempt to subdue the encouraged Romanian..
The gash was brought under control between rounds 5 and 6, as Pulev maintained his composure and went to work on Dinu, landing huge right hands.. By the conclusion of the session, the cut had managed to reopen and bleed down the side of Pulev’s face..
The Bulgarian came out purposeful in the seventh, forcing Dinu into a defensive shell on the ropes, dipping low to avoid the relentless onslaught. A right hand finally managed to force Bogdan to the Canvas where Pulev erratically landed two illegal shots. Pulev was deducted a point for the infringement and forced to allow Dinu time to recover, but the damage was done, Pulev landed another solid overhand right to drop Dinu for a second time.. Moments later a final right hand closed the show, dropping the tough Romanian for a third time, for referee Raul Caiz to call a halt at 2:40 of round seven..
With the Victory, especially on American soil, Pulev remains relevant in the division, maintaining a high ranking in the IBF’s rankings, heading for a possible shot at Anthony Joshua, sometime in the near future. Dinu however hardly the type of preparation required for such a task.