A Split for the Pulev Brothers and a Big Upset on the Undercard of ‘TrillerVerz5’

RINGSIDE REPORT by TSS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT TARRAH ZEAL – It was an eventful Saturday night for TrillerVerz 5 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA. The show, titled ‘Lineage of Greatness,’ featured a well-known family blood line of boxers including Pulev, Vargas and Holyfield.

The Pulev brothers headlined as the co-main and main event, but only one was successful.

Main Event

Former light heavyweight titlist Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (35-4-1, 29 KOs) starred in a new weight class and defeated the younger unbeaten Pulev brother, Tervel Pulev (16-1, 13 KOs) in a 10-round cruiserweight battle.

Russia’s Kovalev schooled his Bulgarian opponent with the jab to capture a unanimous decision. The scorecards read as 97-93 and 98-92 twice for Kovalev. This was Kovalev’s first appearance in the ring since his knockout loss against Canelo Alvarez back in November 2019.

“I was worried about how I was going to be in this fight”, said Kovalev. “After a long rest, it was a little harder than usual.” Kovalev’s performance in the ring was rather cautious and calculated. His opponent wanted to put his skills to the test against the former light heavyweight fighter, but every time Pulev came up short.

Pulev started the opening round with a tone of aggression but was unsuccessful in landing any notable punches against Kovalev. In the final round, one lead punch landed upon Kovalev pushing him back. This gave Pulev an ounce of hope, but Kovalev responded quickly and answered Pulev with several clean, hard punches, keeping him at a distance. Kovalev repeatedly won the rounds with an effective jab and by landing the bigger and heavier punches. “The plan was to use the jab and long distance,” Kovalev said after his successful win in a new division.

Co- Main

The co-main event, matching Kubrat Pulev against Jerry Forrest, caused a bit of delay and controversy in regard to a glove situation. Because Forrest’s gloves did not fit the fighter, finding a new pair of gloves that not only fit but satisfied Pulev’s team needed to happen before the fight could begin. Pulev (23-2, 15 KOs) loaned Forrest (26-5-2, 20 KOs) a pair of his own back-up boxing gloves. Replays of earlier fights from the night were not entertaining during the delay and the crowd grew frustrated as they waited for the fight to begin.

In his first fight since losing to Anthony Joshua in 2020, Pulev the 41- year-old Bulgarian, dominated the strong and resilient American heavyweight fighter. In the beginning rounds, both boxers danced around the ring with quick touch-and-go combinations. Pulev mainly kept Forrest up against the ropes swinging hard hooks to the head but slightly missing. In round three, a straight right hand stunned Pulev backwards. Pulev responded quickly and the two fighters got into a bit of mix-up in the center of the ring. Kubrat kept Forrest on the ropes throwing hard hooks. The crowd cheered with excitement as the round ended with a flurry of uppercuts upon the chin of Forrest.

A cut over the right eye of Kubrat ended the fifth round. A repeating trend between the two heavyweights carried into the next couple of rounds: landing punches, movement around the ring, a mix-up and continuous holding causing the ref to break up the two. By round seven, it was clear that Pulev was dominating the fight. His hard jabs and swinging hooks almost emptied Forrest’s energy tank. The ring doctor examined Forrest before allowing him to continue on to the eighth round although it was clear how exhausted Forrest was.

In the tenth and final round, Forrest squeezed all that he had left in him as he kept moving clumsily forward towards hard-hitting Pulev. Before the final bell, a straight hard jab staggered Pulev back reminding the Bulgarian fighter that the fight was not over. But Pulev laughed it off and closed in on his opponent. The judges scored the bout 98-92 and 99-91 twice for Pulev for the unanimous decision win.

 VARGAS

Former middleweight champion Fernando “El Feroz” Vargas Sr. started a legacy of his own with his sons following closely in his footsteps. All three of Vargas’ sons continued the family dynasty and their father’s legacy with superior wins Saturday night.

Making his debut into the professional boxing world, seven-time amateur champion Emiliano ‘El General’ Vargas (1-0, 1 KO) destroyed his opponent Mark Salgado (1-2, 1 KO) only 2:09 in the opening round. Vargas gave his opponent no room to respond as he packed on the punches with hard-hitting combinations pushing him to the corner. With a look of fury upon the face of the hungry 18-year-old, Vargas connected repeated left hooks upon Salgado and knocked him down to the canvas. After being knocked down once and noticeably unable to keep his head steady after a flurry of punches was followed up, referee Jose Cobian stopped the bout. The crowd roared in agreement.

Emiliano is being proclaimed the “special one” of the trio by his two older brothers. “Watch out for me. I’m still a kid, wait until I get my man strength. The Vargas dynasty is here to stay,” says the youngest.

The eldest of the three, Fernando Vargas Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs) dominated his opponent Terrance Jarmon (3-1) in a scheduled six round super welterweight battle. Southpaw Vargas Jr. threw a quick right cross upon the chin of Jarmon, testing his opponent in the early seconds of the first round. It wasn’t long before a three-punch combo sent Jarmon to the canvas. The referee allowed Jarmon to continue, only to see him knocked down twice more. The fight ended after the third knock down. Vargas Jr. remained undefeated with a knockout win in round one.

Twenty-one-year-old Amado “El Malvado” Vargas (4-0, 2 KOs) opened the show as he faced Anel Dudo (1-4, 1 KO) of Aurora, Colorado. Vargas, who turned pro last year, continued his undefeated record as he won the judges favor in a junior lightweight battle. The bout heard the final bell but not before Vargas schooled his opponent all four rounds with his powerful punches. All three judges scored the bout: 39-36 for Vargas. “I wanted to knock him out, he’s never been knocked out. I just listened to my dad. He told me to keep boxing”, says Amado. Vargas Sr. recapped his son’s fight shortly after stating, “It’s a learning fight. All fights are learning fights.”

HOLYFIELD

Son of legend Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Evan ‘Yung Holy’ Holyfield (9-1, 6 KOs) suffered the first loss of his career by a crushing knockout at the hands of Jurmain “The Fighting Electrician” McDonald (7-5, 3 KOs) who fights out of Jefferson City, Missouri.

In the scheduled six-round welterweight battle, Holyfield remained calm and steady as he fought at the center of the ring looking for the perfect opportunity to catch his opponent off guard, but McDonald beat him to the punch. McDonald stayed busier throwing shots and moving around the ring, and he eventually caught Holyfield with a variety of shots. In round two, McDonald shut down any doubts of him with a big right hook to the head of Holyfield, knocking him to the canvas. In an extreme upset and complete shock heard through the stadium, Referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight at the 8-count ending the second round at 1:56.

“Boxing is starting to become more protected. Evan was not in the conscious state he needed to be in,” says Shawn Porter who was standing ringside reporting on all the fights.

Vargas Sr. was asked what advice he would give Holyfield if that was his son who had lost in the way he did and in a fatherly and inspiring response, said, “I told him. Champ keep your head up. It happens, sometimes we get caught. You’re still Holy.”

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