Following Oleksandr Usyk’s relinquishment of the title, Agit Kabayel has been promoted from WBC interim world champion to full WBC heavyweight world champion
Germany once again has a heavyweight world champion to celebrate: Agit Kabayel has been officially named the regular WBC heavyweight world champion, having previously held the WBC interim title.
The news comes just one day after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished his WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight world titles.
Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) shared his joy on his verified Instagram account: “Unbelievable. As of today, I am the WBC heavyweight world champion. The first Kurdish heavyweight world champion in history and the first German heavyweight world champion in nearly 100 years. Words can’t describe how I feel right now. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support along the way. This success belongs to all of us. I will do everything I can to defend this belt for a long time and add more world titles to my collection.”
The 33-year-old from Bochum has thus ended a 94-year drought in German heavyweight boxing. Since Max Schmeling relinquished his world title in 1932, no German boxer has won a heavyweight world championship.
Karl Mildenberger lost his world championship bout against Muhammad Ali in 1966. Axel Schulz, on the other hand, had terrible luck in 1995 when he was denied a points victory in his world championship bout against George Foreman. Even in his later losses in world championship bouts against Francis Botha and Michael Moorer, many observers considered Schulz the true winner.
There have been numerous reports recently that Turki Alalshikh wants to bring a major heavyweight bout to Germany following Kabayel’s knockout victory over Damian Knyba last January in Oberhausen. With Kabayel as the newly crowned WBC world champion, this plan is likely to gain additional momentum.