Agit Kabayel confirmed his status as the next emerging attraction in the heavyweight division with a knockout victory over the modest Damian Knyba. The fight provided activity for Kabayel and the opportunity to demonstrate his box-office popularity as he pursues big-name opportunities in 2026.
This was a fight designed to showcase Agit Kabayel, 27-0 (19ko), and afford him a simpler task than the trio of wins he has compiled in the last two years. Those wins elevated him to a position of significance in a Heavyweight division fast approaching the Rubicon between eras. Kabayel hopes to provide the bridge by beating Oleksandr Usyk before the veteran Ukrainian waltzes off into the sunset. It is the aim of a parade of challengers pursuant of larger purses and the glory that overcoming one of the departing cash-cows of Usyk, Fury and Joshua offers.
Tonight, Kabayel was roared on by a surprisingly vociferous home crowd in Germany. An audience that appreciates the sport but has traditionally gathered as if for a Beethoven recital rather than the violence of prizefights. Perhaps that is an impression created by the decade of cautious and one-paced defences another Ukrainian, Wladimir Klitschko, delivered when a major attraction in Germany. Kabayel's Kurdish heritage and the pride it evokes in those who share it among his following adds greatly to the atmosphere. It would be a surprise if Kabayel boxes anywhere else unless it is for a title or the purse offered by Saudi Arabia demands his attention.
A crowd can be worth a round or two in a close fight.
The event did impact on Kabayel's proficiency. He was sincere in his commentary after the fight about the success the unheralded Knyba had enjoyed in the opening round. Stating plainly, that the noise and platform the event created had been distraction. His trainer had to draw him back to focus on the fight. In the third round, he found the expected break through with his characteristic body first, then head attack. Knyba was stunned, fatigued and while brave and willing to fight on, was stopped on his feet by a referee opting to intervene a punch too early rather than a punch too late.
Despite the absence of the knockout blow, in its most dramatic form, the crowd enjoyed the spectacle and experienced observers added their own confirmation that the atmosphere was particularly special. Usyk remains Kabayel's target and he holds the WBC Interim belt for whatever the value of the bauble is beyond being a pretty doorstop. With WBC Number 1 contender Lawrence Okolie ringside and erudite in his own ability to capitalise on some of the weaknesses he sees in Kabayel while standing beside Tony Yoka, himself keen for the chance too, the formation of the next pool of heavyweights beyond the big quartet of the last 10 years is becoming clearer.
One truth which Kabayel must address this year is activity. His last four wins have moved him from periphery to centre stage in the division but they've taken more than two years to accumulate. It isn't a problem unique to Kabayel, but if he is to capitalise on the audience he appears to have generated he would be wise not to wait for Usyk. The undisputed champion has designs on a Deontay Wilder fight, one without the threat it once posed, but offering closure on the book of the contemporaries he's shared his career with.
Kabayel versus Usyk would be an interesting prospect if it is made.
Usyk would remain a huge favourite.