After six long years, EC Boxing promoter Erol Ceylan is delighted to have finally secured a heavyweight title defense for Mahmoud Charr.
When explaining why it took so long for Charr to put the WBA ‘regular’ belt on the line, Ceylan’s company released information already documented by World Boxing News several times.
They blame Don King’s ‘unfair means’ in getting the WBA to strip Charr in early 2022 as the main reason. However, Charr had the title from 2017 and saw many defenses fall flat due to litigation between former mandatory challenger Fres Oquendo and the WBA.
WBA heavyweight title defense
After Mahmoud Charr became the WBA world champion against Aleksandr Ustinov in 2017, this is the “Diamond Boy’s” first title defense. It would take more than six years before he could finally defend his title for the first time.
In the meantime, we planned several title defenses. These always fell through due to various circumstances. Charr was even stripped of his world championship belt after Don King used unfair means to prevent a scheduled mandatory fight against his boxer, Trevor Bryan.
A lawsuit from Charr and his ECB team followed, and the WBA awarded the title back to Mahmoud Charr. In the meantime, the Lebanon-born boxer fought three stay-busy fights, all of which he won early.
Now, Charr will face Kubrat Pulev on March 30. Once the first bell rings, it will be 2331 days since Charr won the title.
Charr vs Pulev
The fight is on! What reports stated in recent weeks can now be confirmed. ECB heavyweight Mahmoud Charr will step into the ring against Kubrat Pulev and put his WBA world title at risk.
The battle between the two colossi will occur on March 30 at the Arenaarmec in Sofia, Pulev’s home country of Bulgaria.
Charr, who has been living in Dubai for some time, has been training for months. The former “Colossus of Cologne” kept himself constantly fit in the past because he was always hoping for a big fight. Now he’s finally coming!
In the fight against Pulev, he sees himself as the clear favorite. At the opening press conference in Bulgaria, the EC Boxing Promotion heavyweight said: “Kubrat was a great amateur boxer and also had good fights as a professional. But when he comes under pressure, he collapses.”
Brutal fights
Pulev, who has already fought against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua for the heavyweight world championship but lost both times, said about the upcoming fight: “I will face a very serious opponent who, like me, has a lot of experience. I have a lot of brutal fights behind me.
“I approach the training process with absolute respect and awe for my opponent. Rest assured, I will go into the fight in top shape, and God will decide. I will do everything to win and become a world champion!”
Charr’s representative, Ceylan, added: “I think this is a big fight for Bulgaria and, of course, also for Germany. Both boxers have boxed in Germany for almost their entire careers.
“Whoever loses this fight must expect to give up his career for good. The fight is a crossroads for both boxers regarding the future.
“The winner can reach even larger pots and have mega fights with mega sums. We did a great job with this approach, and it was an absolute fifty-fifty fight!”
