WBC world champion Agit Kabayel was there in person in London for Croatian Filip Hrgovic’s world title upset victory over Moses Itauma—and is issuing a challenge to the new IBF champion.
What Agit Kabayel and his coach Sükrü Aksu witnessed on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena was a huge surprise. Filip Hrgovic stunned the boxing world when he defeated the favored Moses Itauma by TKO in the bout for the vacant IBF heavyweight title. The young star was increasingly exhausted and no longer able to defend himself. At 2:27 of the ninth round, Itauma’s coach, Ben Davison, finally threw in the towel.
“Hrgovic was in great shape”
The experienced Croatian’s victory didn’t come as a complete surprise to Kabayel, as he explained to “The Ring.” “Before the fight, I thought Moses would win,” the WBC world champion said in an interview. But during fight week, the WBC world champion began to have second thoughts, because “Hrgovic was in very good form.” Kabayel concluded that the phase of the fight starting in the seventh or eighth round would be decisive. In the world title fight itself, it became apparent that Itauma was fatigued by that point, according to the “Leberking.” He went on to analyze: “In a situation like that, he lacks experience.”
Filip Hrgovic has a great deal of experience. Although the 34-year-old veteran took plenty of punches from the young star until the fight was stopped, he ultimately turned the tide in his favor. According to CompuBox, Hrgovic landed 61 punches in this memorable world title bout, but absorbed more than twice as many (146) from Itauma. As the young Briton’s stamina began to wane, “El Animal” put the finishing touches on the fight, drawing on all his experience.
A fight with Tyson Fury?
For the first time in his nearly nine-year professional career, Hrgovic was crowned heavyweight champion—and immediately received a challenge. “Congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on winning the IBF world championship,” Agit Kabayel posted. “If you’re ready, let’s put our belts on the line and fight for them.” A unification bout between the reigning WBC champion and the new IBF titleholder would generate a lot of interest in Germany—and could possibly fulfill Team Kabayel’s wish for a major stadium fight in the fall.
Rumors have also been circulating recently that Tyson Fury is considering a fight against Germany’s Leberking—as a Plan B in case the “Battle of Britain” against Anthony Joshua doesn’t materialize after all. The mega-fight between the two rivals is scheduled to take place on November 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York (USA), but this has not yet been officially confirmed. The “Gypsy King” last fought on German soil in November 2015, when he stripped Wladimir Klitschko of his world title. Kabayel commented briefly on the speculation about a possible bout with Fury on Instagram, saying simply: “Send me the location.”
Hysa provokes “Leberking”
Another fighter would love to step into the ring against the WBC world champion right away: Nelson Hysa. The Albanian “Iron Fist” made a powerful impression on the undercard of Itauma vs. Hrgovic, defeating Thomas Narno of Norway by T.K.O. in the second round—Hysa’s 23rd early victory in his 25th professional fight. While still at ringside, the 41-year-old approached Kabayel, taunted him, and got into a confrontation with the champion (“Fight me, brother—don’t run away from me”). Kabayel told Hysa to show some respect—and later explained: “He was just talking nonsense. I have no interest in this guy.” Interestingly, speculation about a Hysa vs. Kabayel bout had already surfaced earlier this year when an opponent was being sought for the fight night in Oberhausen. But in the end, the Bochum heavyweight crossed fists with Poland’s Damian Knyba and won by technical knockout.
The date for Kabayel’s championship celebration, on the other hand, is set: On September 5, the German boxing hero with Kurdish roots will appear before his fans at Bochum City Hall. “Next Saturday, I’ll finally receive my WBC world championship belt. Let’s celebrate this historic moment together!” Kabayel announced via social media. “I hope to see as many of you there as possible. We’ve also prepared a few surprises for you… and who knows, maybe we’ll even be able to announce my next opponent.”
Text: Frank Schwantes