A Bulgarian Boxer is suspended after grabbing a female reporter’s face and kissing her on the lips during a post-fight interview. This was unacceptable behavior as deemed by the California State Athletic Commission, cutting short the Pulev’s celebration of his victory against Bogdan Dinu.
A Celebration Turned Suspension for the Bulgarian Boxer
Kubrat Pulev, also known as “The Cobra” is a heavyweight boxer who fought against Romania’s Bogdan Dinu in Costa Mesa, California in March. The fight ended at the seventh round when Pulev knocked out Dinu resulting in his victory.
However, things turned for the worse for the Bulgarian Boxer when after a post-fight interview, he grabbed the reporter’s face and gave her a big kiss on the lips as the interview ended. The incident was reviewed by the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday where the interviewer also gave a tearful testimony.
According to the video, you can see that the interviewer was smiling and both were laughing after the kiss but Jennifer Ravalo stated that Pulev als grabbed her buttocks off-camera after the said interview. This left her feeling humiliated and hasn’t received an apology from the boxer in the two months since the incident.
Pulev Issues Apology
Pulev’s attorneys said that the boxer didn’t have his wits about him since he was still on a high from his victory when he kissed the reporter. However, Pulev also issued an apology on social media addressed to his fans, stating that the reporter was a friend and that there was nothing to the action that he made. He even said that Ravalo joined in the after-party celebration.
In an interview with Ravalo, she said that the boxer approached her during the party telling her to edit out the kiss, but she did not remove it so that the people can see what he had done and that she wanted him to be accountable.
Pulev is also ordered to attend classes on sexual harassment prevention as well as $2,500 fine before being able to fight again in the state of California.
