Heavyweight boxer Kubrat Pulev is being slammed on Twitter after a video emerged of him 'forcing' a kiss on a female reporter in a post-fight interview. The interview took place backstage following his victory over Bogdan Dinu, a fight which left the Bulgarian boxer with a bleeding cut above his left eye.
This is the moment Kubrat Pulev 'forces' a kiss on a female reporter:The interview started off as a standard post-fight chat in which Pulev - who is mostly remembered for his 2014 defeat by Wladimir Klitschko - was asked to discuss the fight he had just won.
Vegas Sports Daily's Jenny SuShe, the reporter on the other end of the unexpected lip lock, kicked off the interview by asking the 37-year-old, "Okay so that was one of the most savagest, most bloodiest fights I've seen. How were you able to stay so calm? [sic]"
Pulev responded by telling SuShe that he was well-prepared and used "good tactics".
Referencing the injury, the boxer had endured during the match, the reporter then asked: "With that cut, when do you think you'll be back in the ring again?"
To which Pulev assured the interviewer that it was "no problem".
It was when SuShe asked her final question that things started to get weird.
"If Tyson Fury gets through Tom Schwarz, do you think you should have a shot?" she asked.
In response, Pulev very abruptly utters the word, "yes" before suddenly grabbing SuShe and planting a forceful kiss on her lips.
Moments after the awkward encounter, SuShe laughs clearly taken aback and says: "Alright. Thank you. Jesus Christ."
SuShe later tweeted that she found the moment "[a little] embarrassing" and "strange".
While SuShe's response to the incident was fairly tame, many people were furious and took to Twitter to condemn the athlete.