Agit Kabayel scores the next knockout triumph at his longed-for “Homecoming” and now finally wants to get in front of heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk. His manager is hoping for a stadium fight in Germany – but also expresses an underlying suspicion against Usyk.
For three minutes late on Saturday evening in Oberhausen, Oleksandr Usyk seemed to be even further away from Agit Kabayel than he already was. In front of 13,000 roaring spectators in the Rudolf Weber Arena, the interim world champion of the WBC Association received a surprising amount of punishment from his challenger Damian Knyba.
Kabayel appeared tense, inhibited by the burden of having to deliver the desired message to heavyweight King Usyk at home in front of his German and Kurdish compatriots.
“He caught Agit with an uppercut and gave him a cut in the eye. Then I thought: He’s anything but bad, maybe I underestimated this a bit,” admitted Kabayel’s manager Spencer Brown in an exclusive interview RTL/ntv and sport.de.
Video: Kabayel ready for Usyk: “Tell me where, I’m coming!”
The Kabayel camp knew that the 2.01 meter tall and 118 kilogram heavy Knyba with the octopus arms would physically tower over the local hero (1.90 meter). The fact that the “Polish Hussar” would treat him like that – “I was a bit shocked,” said Brown. And Kabayel said afterwards on RTL-Micro: “I messed up the first round to the max.”
“Usyk against Kabayel in Germany – this crowd was lit”
Kabayel’s mission – to make German boxing great again – seemed at least latently at risk. But there was also this “very, very good coach” that Brown raved about, “who can really read a fight”: Sükrü Aksu. The trainer got the 33-year-old Ruhrpott fighter back on track during the break in the round.
“The coach said to me: ‘Boy, you fight at world level, you’re one of the best heavyweights in the world, we want to fight against the best in the world: what are you doing?’ That’s when I woke up,” Kabayel reported.
Brown saw it that way too. “As soon as Agit listened to him, he took control.” In the second round, the first hooks of the “Liver King” rained down on the massive Knyba. In round three it became a barrage of body and head fire, which referee Mark Lyson extinguished early by saving the reeling Kollos from further beating.
“Did you see the first physical hit? Then he (Knyba) was in excruciating pain. From then on it was only a matter of time,” said Brown, commenting on the scenes that completely detonated the madhouse Rudolf-Weber-Arena. “I’ve never seen anything like that, it was unbelievable,” said the Briton about his boxer’s passionate fans. The Kurdish-Ruhr combination was impressive both inside and outside the ring.
On Monday morning, a look at the relevant forums of the international boxing portals revealed that the atmosphere also permeated the live stream. “Usyk against Kabayel in Germany – this crowd was set on fire,” demanded a reader of “boxingscene.com”.
Agit Kabayel certainly has a chance at the World Cup – what is the WBC doing?
Because the 13,000 people in Oberhausen not only loudly chanted the name “Agit”. “Usyk, Usyk, Usyk,” it echoed through the arena when Kabayel asked the “DAZN” microphone who he should fight next. Suddenly Oleksandr Usyk was close again, or at least it felt like he was.
The 33-year-old said in the ring that he had been waiting for his chance against the Ukrainian for so long that other fights – with all due respect to possible opponents – didn’t really interest him. “I think it’s time for the WBC World Cup in Germany. We can go to any stadium. It’s about time, it’s not up to me. I’m ready. Wherever – I’ll go,” added Kabayel RTL/ntv and sport.de added.
What it is has three letters and is called WBC, World Boxing Council. It is now the turn of the Mexico-based association. As early as 2024, Kabayel had fought against Frank Sanchez in a “Final Eliminator” in Riyadh for the right to challenge Usyk.
But since the Ukrainian first had a revenge against Tyson Fury and in the summer of 2025 unified the belts of all major associations WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO in a big title and letter showdown with Daniel Dubois, Kabayel was appeased with a fight for the interim title (which the German won in February 2025 against China colossus Zhang Zhilei via liver knockout).
The case is actually clear: As “intermediate” world champion and mandatory challenger, Kabayel is entitled to a world championship fight against Usyk. If the grandmaster wants to keep his WBC crown, he has to face the “Leber King”. Actually. Because the WBC is notorious for its rubber rules. Only recently did officials allow Usyk to defend his title voluntarily. The 38-year-old plans to defend his titles against 40-year-old former world champion Deontay Wilder in the USA in the spring. And then? It should finally be Kabayel’s turn. Actually. In practice, WBC Usyk has not made any announcements to date.
Is Usyk chickening out? Maybe he even wants the fight.”
Kabayel’s promoter George Warren announced maximum pressure on the association in Oberhausen to help his protégé get his rights. However, the Brit knows exactly who he is dealing with and, as a precautionary measure, gave Kabayel the prospect of a possible stadium fight in Germany against a “British Heavyweight” in the summer.
Warren can afford to wait. His Queensberry stable, which he runs with his father and promoter legend Frank Warren, has almost all well-known heavyweights on board – including ring returnee Tyson Fury. Either way, Usyk is likely to fight a Queensberry candidate in the second half of 2026.
“We deserve our chance,” manager Brown made clear, referring to Kabayle’s knockout series against the “four giants” Arslanbek Makhmudov (end of 2023), Sanchez (May 2024), Zhang (February 2025) and now Knyba. “He is the interim world champion. Nobody can just skip him – that won’t happen. The compulsory defense has to come in the next six months,” said the Englishman to the address of the WBC.
Asked about the WBC’s lax handling of its own rules, Brown replied: “You can only ignore it for so long. No matter who you are, you can’t ignore it forever.”
And Usyk? Is the master of all classes avoiding Kabayel? “Maybe Agit is his kryptonite. Maybe he doesn’t want the fight at all,” Brown expressed a cautious suspicion in Oberhausen. “Kabayel is a tough, rough fighter – and he (Usyk) doesn’t like body blows. That would be a very, very close fight between Agit and Oleksandr Usyk.”
Brown cited the large number of Ukrainians living in Germany as a possible convincing argument for a stadium fight, which could encourage the heavyweight champion to take on Kabayel. “Everything is going for us. Why wouldn’t he want to fight Agit? It’s up to Oleksandr Usyk.”