In the BOXSPORT interview, Axel Schulz talks about his scandalous fight 30 years ago against Botha, the upcoming homecoming of Agit Kabayel and the flood of titles in boxing.
Hello Axel, yesterday was your anniversary, so to speak, the 30th anniversary of the Schulz vs Botha duel. How do you remember it?
I can’t believe that was 30 years ago. But that’s how I feel too. (laughs) That was a fight that could have changed everything. It’s a bit of a strange feeling when I think back on it. It’s usually like that in sport: If one person has doped, the other is automatically the winner. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for me, I wasn’t declared world champion after Botha’s doping offense.
You ended your career a long time ago. How do you keep fit today?
Competitive sport has already left its mark. Jogging is no longer possible, but the gym is. But the great thing is that I’ve been giving boxing training at the Precise Resort Hotel in my home town of Bad Saarow for a few months now. I wanted it to be free of charge for hotel guests. In any case, the training is a lot of fun.
How do you train with the guests?
We do claw training in a relatively small room, always two minutes and then one minute break – so I can work with each participant twice within an hour and still have time to correct strokes and give tips. That’s better than training in a large fitness room and constantly having to run from machine to machine.
Agit Kabayel’s “Homecoming” will take place in Oberhausen on January 10. What are your expectations?
First of all, I assume that Agit will win the fight against Damian Knyba. After all, it’s not a mandatory defense, and when you’re as close to a world championship fight as Agit is, you don’t take any risks. The most important thing is all the attention he’s generating with his homecoming – there haven’t been 13,000 spectators for boxing in Germany for a long time. I’m also pleased that Simon Zachenhuber is also boxing at the event.
Your wishes for the boxing year 2026?
All these boxing federations that are growing in number and throwing titles around and attaching a World Championship flag to them is annoying. No fan can see through that anymore. That’s why I would like to see German championships given a higher status again, which is much more important and also the plan of BDB President Thomas Pütz. When it comes to the German Championship, everyone knows that the BDB is behind it and that it is also a high-class title fight. The English have been relying on national title fights for many years and have been very successful with them.
Interview: Frank Schwantes