Agit Kabayel sets his sights on a heavyweight after yet another knockout victory

Agit Kabayel scored a third-round stoppage against Damien Knyba in his comeback fight at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, and the heavyweight hype train continues.

After years of relative inactivity, Kabayel returned to the scene with a victory against undefeated Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in 2023. He then took the perfect record from another heavyweight in the person of Frank Sanchez, and rose from the canvas to prevent Zhilei Zhang in February 2025 from winning the WBC Interim belt.

This defense – his first fight in Germany since 2023 – saw him as a heavy favorite but was not without danger. Knyba, while untested at the highest level, stands 6′ 7″ tall, is in his physical prime and entered the ring with zero losses and everything to gain.

He started to get busy, invading Kabayel and landing effectively, damaging the interim champion’s right eye in just two minutes. Knyba’s uppercut was the standout shot of the first round, and the reach disadvantage seemed to be a tough puzzle for Kabayel to solve.

The German settled into a faster pace in the second, finding a home for his famous body shots and taking away the work of Knyba. Kabayel opened a cut on the challenger in the third and completely regained the momentum, putting Knyba on shaky legs via a series of overhand rights in the final minute and didn’t relent until referee Mark Lyson stepped in to stop the action. Many will see this as an early end, even if it seemed inevitable.

What future for this German star?

When he asked the crowd who they would like to see him face, chants of “Usyk” rang out. Kabayel confirmed that the unified champion is who he wants.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this title shot. I beat three monsters in the Riyadh season. Give me the world title fight. I’m ready. Really, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Manager Spencer Brown doubled down on his call:

“Wherever you are, we’re ready. Come on.”

Oleksandr Usyk has been granted a voluntary defense from the WBC and is currently in negotiations with Deontay Wilder. Kabayel, who is unlikely to sit idly by, finds himself frustratingly faced with another defense of his interim title.