Boxing

After another knockout victory, Agit Kabayel focuses on one heavyweight

Published

10 months ago

January 10, 2026

Agit Kabayel sets his sights on one heavyweight after yet another knockout victory

Agit Kabayel scored a third-round goal against Damien Knyba in his comeback fight at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, and the heavyweight train continues.

After years of relatively dormancy, Kabayel burst onto the scene again with a victory over undefeated Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in 2023. He then set another perfect heavyweight record in Frank Sanchez and rose to stop Zhilei Zhang in February 2025 to capture the WBC interim belt.

In this defense – his first fight in Germany since 2023 – he was seen as the clear favorite, but he was not without threats. Although unproven at the highest level, Knyba is 6-foot-7, in excellent physical condition, and entered the ring with zero downside and everything to gain.

He started busy, swarmed Kabayel and landed successfully, damaging the interim champion’s right eye in just two minutes. Knyba’s shot was the standout shot in the first round, and the range disadvantage seemed like a tough puzzle for Kabayel to solve.

In the second quarter, the German introduced a more rhythmic rhythm, finding space for his infamous body shots and taking away Knyba’s energy. Kabayel opened the challenger’s cut in the third minute and completely took over the momentum, knocking Knyba to shaky legs in the final minute with a series of overhand rights and holding his own until referee Mark Lyson stepped in to stop the action. Many will see this as an early stoppage, even if it looked inevitable.

What’s next for this German star?

When he asked the audience who they would like to see him with, there were chants of “Usyk”. Kabayel confirmed that the unified champion is who he wants to be.

“I’ve been waiting for this title fight for so long. I defeated three monsters in the season in Riyad. Give me a world title fight. I’m ready. I really am ready. Let’s go.”

Manager Spencer Brown doubled down after the call:

“Wherever you are, we’re ready. Come on.”

Oleksandr Usyk received a voluntary defense from the WBC and is currently in negotiations with Deontay Wilder. So Kabayel, who is unlikely to sit on his hands, meanwhile frustratingly faces another defense of his interim title.

Boxing

Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyus Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Robert Garcia Analyzes Tim Tszyu's Odds Against Erislandy Lara | Boxing News"

Tim Tszyu seeks to become Australia’s third multi-divisional boxing world champion when he competes for Erislandy Lara’s WBA middleweight title next month, and ahead of the action, trainer Robert Garcia has offered his thoughts on the fight.

Tszyu lost his WBO super-welterweight title in a defeat to Sebastian Fundora back in 2024 and twice failed to reclaim 154lb honours, both against Bakhram Murtazaliev and in a rematch with Fundora.

Since then, the Aussie has stepped up to middleweight and scored a career-best win over Errol Spence Jr earlier this yearand now, the 32-year-old could join lead trainer Jeff Fenech and Liam Paro as his nation’s third two-weight world champion, if he can trump 43-year-old.

Speaking with ProBox TVRobert Garcia, who trains a potential future Tszyu opponent in Vergil Ortiz, admitted that he is leaning towards the home fighter, but noted that Lara will not be phased by competing in the challenger’s backyard.

“We can probably lean towards Tim Tsyzu because he is fighting at home, in front of his hometown, but Lara is not the fighter that brings in a lot of fans following him.

“He doesn’t have a following, he is not one that is going to sell out arenas, so even if it is in the United States, it is likely that most of the people are going to be [there] for Tim Tszyu because Australians do travel and Tim Tszyu has a lot of fans.

“For Lara, going to Australia is like going to Las Vegas or going to New York because he never has that following anyways. Anywhere he goes, he is going to be against the crowd. So, I think for him it is going to be one of those performances where it doesn’t make a difference if he is going to Tim Tsyzu’s hometown.”

Tszyu-Lara takes place at the Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland, Australia on Sunday 13 December.

Boxing

Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight

Published

3 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"Malik Scott Predicts Knockout Victory for Jai Opetaia in Upcoming Fight"

Deontay Wilder’s former head coach Malik Scott has delivered a knockout prediction for the American’s upcoming showdown with Jai Opetaia.

The pair will square off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, with Opetaia making his heavyweight debut on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.

Despite him being the naturally smaller man, many are favouring the Australian – a former two-time world cruiserweight champion – to defeat his 10-years-older opponent.

It is, after all, generally accepted that Wilder has declined significantly since his trilogy bout with Furywho survived two knockdowns and scored an 11th-round knockout in their 2021 encounter.

Back then, Wilder had just joined forces with Scott, his former opponent, and the pair maintained their fighter-trainer relationship through subsequent defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

With Wilder now operating under different coaches, though, Scott has shared a balanced view of the Opetaia fight with Seconds Out.

“The fight’s got dynamite written all over it. Jai Opetaia is very dangerous, but he’s a smaller man that’s been hurt by smaller men than Deontay, slower men than Deontay.

“I’ve never seen Opetaia get hit by nobody like Deontay; I’ve seen Deontay get hit by bigger punchers than Opetaia. [But] one thing we can expect in this fight is a knockout.

“The name of the fight is ‘bad intentions’ – at least that’s what I’m calling it, because that’s what they share in common. What they share in common is mentality – they both are trying to hurt you.”

While he stopped short of predicting a winner, it is perhaps telling that Scott, despite his relationship with Wilder, has not explicitly favoured him to win by knockout.