The World Cup dream is alive: Germany’s boxing hope Agit Kabayel has mastered his compulsory task confidently and can hope for a heavyweight World Cup fight soon.
The 33-year-old from Bochum defeated the Pole Damian Knyba by technical knockout in the third round in Oberhausen and successfully defended the title of WBC interim world champion.
“What an atmosphere. We made a statement. We showed that German boxing is alive,” Kabayel shouted after his triumph to the 13,000 spectators in the sold-out Rudolf Weber Arena: “If I could choose: We are now ready for the World Cup.”
With his 27th win in his 27th professional fight, Kabayel underlined his claim to a fight for the heavyweight crown. A duel with the unbeaten champion Alexander Usyk (Ukraine) had not yet taken place.
Kabayel’s promoter George Warren had already emphasized before the fight that he would “put a lot of pressure on the WBC from Monday so that Agit gets the chance for the title.” If Kabayel delivers a “super knockout”, “then we’ll come back to Germany in the summer. This time to a football stadium and maybe we’ll get a British heavyweight before he fights Usyk.” Kabayel wants to become the first German heavyweight world champion since Max Schmeling in the early 1930s.
Kabayel hits have an impact
Kabayel was initially slow to get into the fight. The self-proclaimed “Liver King”, who had positioned himself for a world championship fight with three convincing victories in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, once again went to great lengths on his body. The tall Pole (2.01 m), in turn, gave Kabayel a cut above the right eye and tried to keep his opponent at a distance with his immense reach.
The audience loudly supported Kabayel – and the favorite got better and better in the fight. Kabayel was now much more aggressive and repeatedly scored hits that had a visible effect. The referee pulled the ripcord in the third round.