'Rather Fight Jai': Team Opetaia Slam Rare WBC Move
The WBC said Usyk must face interim champion Agit Kabayel next or risk vacating the heavyweight belt, per BoxingScene.
- Following his victory last week, the WBC ordered heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to defend his title against interim champion Agit Kabayel, effectively ruling out an immediate rematch with Rico Verhoeven.
- To arrange this matchup, Turki Alalshikh flew the German fighter to Giza for a face-to-face meeting with Usyk, having previously indicated he was working toward this specific pairing.
- The 33-year-old Kabayel, the first WBC heavyweight champion of Turkish descent, secured his interim title by knocking out Zhilei Zhang in February 2025 and remains undefeated at 27-0.
- Failure to comply with the WBC mandate would force Usyk to relinquish his championship belt; the 39-year-old Ukrainian previously vacated the IBF title to pursue a rematch with Tyson Fury.
- Alalshikh hopes to book the lineal heavyweight champion's next outing in early 2027 near the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, positioning the bout as a pivotal step in his remaining career.
15 Articles
15 Articles
The Ukrainian boxer is supposed to fight for the mandatory protection of the WBC Championship belt in super heavy weight.
While the Ukrainian was planning a high-profile revenge, the Boxing Council bosses prepared a tough bandwagon. The World Boxing Council (WBC) officially appointed mandatory protection for Alexander Usyk. The Ukrainian's next opponent will be the dangerous and undefeated interim champion Agit Kabael. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing comments by the organization's president, Mauricio Suleiman, for Pro Box TV. Read also: WBC's tough verdict…
The German boxing pro Agit Kabayel has to wait a long time until the World Federation officially makes him the challenger of heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk. Now it is him - and could even become the successor of boxing icon Max Schmeling without a punch.
Interim WBC welterweight champion Agit Kabael (27−0, 19 KOs) shared his thoughts on the fight against WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight champion Alexander Usyk (25−0, 16 KOs).
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