International breakthrough: title fights, Olympic champions and a mega-fight in Riyadh characterize AGON’s record year.
With seven events on three continents, over 20 title fights and an exceptional density of internationally ranked boxers, the Berlin boxing promotion AGON Sports can look back on one of the most successful years in its history.
AGON Sports was responsible for a total of seven events, five of which took place abroad. Two events took place in Cuba, in addition to participation in international WBA events in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Madrid (Spain) and Benghazi (Libya). AGON also made its mark in Germany: In Neu-Ulm, five-time former world champion Felix Sturm returned to the ring in front of 4,200 spectators, followed by another event in Berlin’s Uber Eats Music Hall in September with a focus on title fights and the company’s own young talent.
“This combination of international presence and national anchoring is currently unique in German boxing,” says promoter and AGON boss Ingo Volckmann. The two events in Cuba were of particular historical significance. For the first time since the 1960s, professional boxing was once again possible on the island. AGON Sports thus wrote boxing history and at the same time created a new platform for exceptional Cuban athletes in the professional arena.
Title fights at all levels
In sporting terms, the year was characterized by title fights at almost all levels – from national championships and international WBA and WBO titles to the absolute world elite. The highlight was William Scull’s unified world championship fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the WBA, IBF, WBO and WBC titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The involvement of a German promoter in one of the biggest boxing matches in the world impressively underlined the international position of AGON Sports.
Julio Cesar La Cruz set another sporting exclamation mark. Following his victory in the WBA Final Eliminator against Dilan Prasovic in April, the exceptional Cuban athlete was officially appointed as the mandatory challenger for the WBA World Championship in Bridgerweight and thus moved directly into World Championship reach.
At the same time, AGON Sports made targeted investments in sporting substance and signed several of the world’s most decorated boxers. With La Cruz, Erislandy Alvarez, Lazaro Alvarez, Arlen Lopez and Sofiane Oumiha, AGON brought Olympic champions, world-class amateurs and international title holders into its stable and raised the sporting level in the long term.
From up-and-coming to top boxers
AGON Sports also sent out strong signals at national level. The two Berlin boxers Hamsat Shadalov and Paul Wall celebrated their first title wins at international and national level respectively in 2025, confirming the success of the company’s work with young talent.
The sporting depth of the AGON stable is impressively reflected in the world rankings. Several boxers are ranked in the top 10 or top 15 of the major federations, including Julio Cesar La Cruz, Arlen Lopez, William Scull, Vincenzo Gualtieri, Etinosa Oliha, Erislandy and Lazaro Alvarez as well as Moussa Gholam.
The outlook for the coming year underlines the sporting ambition. On January 10, heavyweight Granit Shala will face Petar Milas at the Agit Kabayel Homecoming, while super middleweight William Scull will take on Jacob Banks in Denmark on January 31.
Ingo Volckmann: “In my opinion, we didn’t just impress on a sporting level in 2025, we also firmly established German professional boxing on the international stage and wrote boxing history with our first Cuba event. Our fighters were in demand and in action internationally and nationally and we were able to celebrate great successes. I would like to thank all the fans, partners, the team and the athletes for this special year. 2026 will continue where we left off in 2025! With the big fights of Granit Shala at the Kabayel event and William Scull in Denmark in an important ranking fight, we are setting the bar high again in January!”
Press release / AGON Sports