Heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria just made an impressive US debut on ESPN last Saturday, but instead of his dominant stoppage win over Bogdan Dinu being the topic of discussion on news shows and social media, his spontaneous kiss of a female reporter Jenny Sushe went viral.
The Vegas Sports Daily reporter who is also a Sushi chef and artist, is a big boxing fan and said she was elated to be able to attend the Top Rank on ESPN promoted card in Costa Mesa, California last weekend.
She interviewed various fighters such as Rico Ramos and Kubrat Pulev before the event. It was her post-fight interview backstage with Kubrat Pulev that left her shocked because he forced a kiss on her without her consent.
In the interview Sushe and Pulev are standing chest to chest in almost a close embrace. She was asking him questions about his fight and upcoming opponents, but just as the interview was ending Pulev grabs her by the face catching her off guard and plants a big wet kiss on her lips.
After the kiss, Sushe awkwardly laughs it off but said on her Twitter account that she felt a “little embarrassed” and “strange.”
On Thursday, Sushe announced that she would hire lawyer Gloria Allred to handle a case against the boxer.
Allred held a press conference on Thursday with Sushe reading a written statement. Sushe also claimed that Pulev assaulted her again after the kiss by groping her buttocks and laughing as she was putting her stuff in her backpack.
Video clip of Jenny Sushe and Gloria Allred’s press conference addressing the Kubrat Pulev kiss and sexual assault:
TMZ Sports
Pulev released his own statement on Instagram @Kubratpulev regarding the kiss
To my fans:
You may have seen a clip of me kissing a female reporter following an interview after I won my fight Saturday night. The reporter, Jenny, is actually a friend of mine, and after the interview, I was so elated, I gave her a kiss. Later that night, she joined me and my other friends at my post-fight celebration. On the video, after our kiss, we both laughed about it and thanked each other. There really is nothing more to this.
Sushe said sternly that she and Kubrat were NOT friends like he claimed in his Instagram post and he asked her at an after party to please delete the kiss from her video but she refused and posted it on YouTube for the world to see so he would be held accountable for his unwelcome actions.
The reporter felt humiliated by the disgusting act and said no human should be treated that way.
Top Rank promotions who handles Pulev has yet to release an official statement on the matter.
