Fringe heavyweight contender Jerry Forrest will now face former two-time world title challenger Kubrat Pulev on May 14, Triller announced Monday afternoon. The 10-round bout will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and will stream live on Fite.TV and TrillerFightClub.com (PPV, $29.95).
Forrest replaces Andrey Fedesov, who withdrew from the fight against Pulev for undisclosed reasons.
The 33-year Forrest (26-4-2, 20 knockouts), who resides in Newport News, Virginia, is coming off a split decision draw with contender Michael Hunter on December 2. Nine months earlier, Forrest fought to a majority decision draw with unbeaten Zhilei Zhang in an action-packed fight. Forrest overcame three knockdowns to rally late and make it close.
In July 2019, Forrest appeared on a ShoBox telecast, losing a split-decision to Jermaine Franklin in a fight many thought Forrest won.
Pulev (28-2, 14 KOs), who resides in Sofia, Bulgaria, has not fought since December 2020, when he was dropped multiple times and knocked out by then-unified heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua.
The 40-year-old Pulev had won his previous eight outings, posting victories over Derek Chisora, Hughie Fury, and Rydell Booker among others.
In the main event, former three-time world light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev will square off against Tervel Pulev, younger brother of Kubrat, in a 10-round cruiserweight bout.
Also on the card, Evan Holyfield (9-0, 6 KOs), son of undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, will face Jurmain McDonald (6-5, 2 KOs) of Jefferson City, Missouri, in a six-round welterweight bout.
Fernando Vargas, Jr., Amado Vargas, and Emiliano Vargas, who will be making his professional debut, will also fight on the card in separate bouts.
Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
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