The Most Famous
BOXERS from Bulgaria
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Bulgarian Boxers of all time. This list of famous Bulgarian Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Ivailo Marinov (b. 1960)
With an HPI of 47.96, Ivailo Marinov is the most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.
Ivailo Marinov (Bulgarian: Ивайло Маринов; born 13 July 1960 in Varna, also known as Ismail Mustafov, Ismail Huseinov or Ivailo Khristov) is a Bulgarian boxer of Muslim Romani ancestry, who won the bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in light flyweight, and the gold medal in the same category at the 1988 Summer Olympics
2. Kubrat Pulev (b. 1981)
With an HPI of 46.54, Kubrat Pulev is the 2nd most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Kubrat Venkov Pulev (Bulgarian: Кубрат Венков Пулев; born 4 May 1981) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title (Regular version) since 2024. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2012 and 2016. As an amateur, he won multiple medals at international tournaments, including gold at the 2008 European Championships and bronze at the 2005 World Championships, all in the super-heavyweight division. He also represented Bulgaria at the 2008 Olympics.
3. Svilen Rusinov (b. 1964)
With an HPI of 45.92, Svilen Rusinov is the 3rd most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Svilen Aldinov Rusinov (Bulgarian: Свилен Алдинов Русинов; born February 29, 1964, in Teteven) is a Bulgarian boxer, who twice competed at the Summer Olympics for his native country. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the super heavyweight division (+ 91 kg) at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He also won the European Championship in 1993 and was twice runner up in the World Amateur Championships. During his extensive amateur career Rusinov consistently competed at the highest level and boxed a number of amateur and future professional boxing greats. He holds wins over Vitali Klitschko and 3 times Olympic champion Felix Savon, as well as a close loss to Wladimir Klitschko. In an interview he stated that his toughest opponent was Roberto Balado, the 1992 Olympic champion from Cuba[1].
4. Vladimir Kolev (b. 1953)
With an HPI of 44.73, Vladimir Kolev is the 4th most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Vladimir Kolev (Bulgarian: Владимир Колев, born April 18, 1954) is a retired boxer from Bulgaria and Olympic bronze medalist. He also works as an actor, and has appeared in many American films. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he won the bronze medal in the light welterweight division (– 63'5 kg) after being defeated in the semifinals by eventual runner-up Andrés Aldama of Cuba. Two years earlier, at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba, he won the silver medal, after losing to Ayub Kalule from Uganda in the final.
5. Tervel Pulev (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 42.59, Tervel Pulev is the 5th most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Tervel Venkov Pulev (Bulgarian: Тервел Венков Пулев) is a Bulgarian professional boxer. He has held the WBA International cruiserweight title since December 2019 and previously the European Union cruiserweight title in 2018.
6. Stoyka Krasteva (b. 1985)
With an HPI of 38.62, Stoyka Krasteva is the 6th most famous Bulgarian Boxer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Stoyka Krasteva (Bulgarian: Стойка Кръстева; born 18 September 1985), née Petrova, is a Bulgarian former boxer who won a gold medal in the women's flyweight division at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was born in Dobrich, a town in northeastern Bulgaria.
7. Radoslav Pantaleev (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 21.66, Radoslav Pantaleev is the 7th most famous Bulgarian Boxer. His biography has been translated into 6 different languages.
Radoslav Dimitrov Pantaleev (born 5 July 1993) is a Bulgarian boxer. He won a medal at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships.
People
Pantheon has 7 people classified as Bulgarian boxers born between 1953 and 1993. Of these 7, 7 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Bulgarian boxers include Ivailo Marinov, Kubrat Pulev, and Svilen Rusinov. As of April 2024, 2 new Bulgarian boxers have been added to Pantheon including Stoyka Krasteva, and Radoslav Pantaleev.
Living Bulgarian Boxers
Go to all Rankings
Ivailo Marinov
1960 - Present
HPI: 47.96
Kubrat Pulev
1981 - Present
HPI: 46.54
Svilen Rusinov
1964 - Present
HPI: 45.92
Vladimir Kolev
1953 - Present
HPI: 44.73
Tervel Pulev
1983 - Present
HPI: 42.59
Stoyka Krasteva
1985 - Present
HPI: 38.62
Radoslav Pantaleev
1993 - Present
HPI: 21.66
