Craving bigger spotlights and paydays, unbeaten Kurdish, German Agit Kabayel is back in a WBC interim world heavyweight title fight in his home country Saturday night.
Agit Kabayel is not a household name, at least not yet, however, he may become a more known one in the heavyweight division in 2026.
And coming up Saturday night in Oberhausen, Germany, Kabayel returns to improve his standing for a possible heavyweight world title shot. That's when the Kurdish German takes on Damian Knyba in the Queensberry Promotions main event. The bout will be streaming live on DAZN in primetime in Europe and Saturday afternoon in the USA and will be for Kabayel’s WBC interim heavyweight title, adding significant stakes to an already intriguing match-up.
Kabayel, 26-0, 18 KOs, enters the fight riding the momentum of the most impressive victory of his career. In his last outing, the hard hitting Kurd stopped Chinese contender Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round following a punishing and relentless display. Despite being dropped by Zhang in the fifth round, the 33 year old Kabayel showed composure and resilience, responding with sustained pressure and brutal body work before ending the contest with a crushing shot to the midsection. That win firmly established him as a genuine contender in the heavyweight division.
Watch Kabayel take out Zhang here:
Still, with names like England's Fabio Wardley (the WBO champ) and rising star, Moses Itauma, plus, former Olympic Silver Medalist Richard Torrez of the U.S., etc. Kabayel isn't that well known amongst contenders for the unified heavyweight champ, Oleksandr Usyk.
This contest will mark a large homecoming for Kabayel, who will be fighting in front of his home country fans in Oberhausen for the first time in nearly three years . And, with a world title opportunity firmly in his sights for 2026, a successful defense of the interim belt would further strengthen his position in the WBC rankings and keep him on course for a shot at full championship honors against Usyk.
Standing in the way is undefeated Polish heavyweight Knyba 17-0, 11 KOs. And, while Knyba has yet to face opposition of Kabayel’s caliber, he has built a solid record, with notable wins over countryman Andrzej Wawrzyk and Richard Lartey of Ghana. Known for his disciplined approach and effective jab, Knyba, who lives and trains in New Jersey in the USA, will need to control distance and tempo, if he hopes to neutralize Kabayel’s pressure and power on the inside.
Kabayel has also been flattening opponents with kayos in his last five fights. That includes prior to the Zhang win, dropping Cuban born Frank Sanchez twice before stopping him in May of 2024. He also dropped three times and TKO-ed Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in four rounds in December 2023. Both bouts were in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Now, we'll see if Kabayel can kickoff 2026 with another impressive showing.