Agit Kabayel

Agit Kabayel (born 23 September 1992) is a German professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title since June 2026. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2017 and 2024.

As of June 2026, Kabayel is ranked as the world's third-best active heavyweight by The Ring and BoxRec.

Early life Kabayel was born in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany to Kurdish parents originating from the village of Uson/Cennetpazarı in Pazarcık, Turkey, from an Alevi family.https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/886574/kabayel-retains-heavyweight-title-with-third-round-knockout-dedicating-victory-to-kurdish-peoplehttps://roundtable.io/sports/boxing/wbc-interim-heavweight-champ-agit-kabayel-returns-saturday-nighthttps://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/836455/kurdish-power-agit-kabayel-on-victory-identity-and-his-dream-for-a-united-kurdistan He grew up in the nearby city of Bochum in relatively poor financial conditions. Kabayel initially began an apprenticeship as a skilled worker in railway track construction after obtaining Mittlere Reife. Occasionally he worked as a bouncer, pursued a career in football and later also tried kickboxing before turning to his current discipline, boxing.

Professional career Early career Kabayel compiled a perfect record of 15–0 before winning the vacant European heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory against Herve Hubeaux on 24 February 2017 in Cologne, Germany.

Kabayel vs. Chisora In his next fight, Kabayel defended his European title against former WBC world title challenger Derek Chisora at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Médecin in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 4 November 2017. Chisora was ranked #8 by the WBC at the time. In a largely low-key affair, Kabayel outboxed his opponent to a majority decision victory. The judges' scorecards read 115–113, 115–114, 114–114 in Kabayel's favour, handing Chisora his eighth professional loss. Chisora started the fight slow, remaining patient. He became more active after round six but failed to bustle the attack on Kabayel, who moved well with his feet. Kabayel also used quick combinations and jabs to win many of the rounds.

On 2 March 2019, Kabayel beat Andriy Rudenko by unanimous decision in a 12 round contest, almost a year after his previous bout. Over the next four years, Kabayel fought at this rate, with his next four bouts occurring yearly between 2020 and 2023. He eventually vacated his European title on 3 September 2019, after signing up with Top Rank.

Rise up the ranks On 18 July 2020, Kabayel beat Evgenios Lazaridis by unanimous decision in their ten-round contest to win the vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title. The scorecards read 98–92, 100–90, 99–91 in favour of Kabayel.

In November 2020, it was revealed that Kabayel was in talks to challenge the then-undefeated WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on 5 December 2020 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and that he had been sent a contract by Fury's promoter Frank Warren. However, the fight was ultimately cancelled due to complications with Fury's contractual disputes with former WBC champion Deontay Wilder regarding a potential trilogy fight between them.

On 5 June 2021, Kabayel returned to the ring to face former world title challenger Kevin Johnson. He retained his WBA Continental title and undefeated record with a wide unanimous decision, with scores of 118–111, 118–111, and 119–110 in his favour. Kabayel next faced Pavel Sour on 14 May 2022. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout. After almost a year of inactivity, Kabayel returned on March 3, 2023 against Agron Smakici, recovering from a second-round knockdown to stop Smakici in the third, recapturing the vacant European heavyweight title in the process.

Kabayel vs. Makhmudov On 23 December 2023, Kabayel challenged undefeated prospect Arslanbek Makhmudov for his WBC-NABF and WBA Inter-Continental titles at the Day of Reckoning event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was also the first time he had fought twice in one year since 2017. Entering the bout as the underdog, Kabayel produced a surprise upset, defeating Makhmudov by TKO in the fourth round to take his titles. He outmanoeuvred his larger opponent throughout the first three rounds, countering him hard to the head, before increasing the pressure in the fourth and going down to the body; it was then that he dropped Makhmudov three times before the referee waved off the fight. With this win, Kabayel improved to 24–0 with 16 knockouts.

Kabayel vs. Sánchez On 18 May 2024, Agit Kabayel challenged undefeated Cuban contender Frank Sánchez for the WBC Continental Americas and WBO-NABO heavyweight titles at the Ring of Fire event in Riyadh's Kingdom Arena. The bout served as a WBC eliminator, positioning the winner as a mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight world title. Entering as the underdog, Kabayel delivered a commanding performance, employing strategic body shots and combinations to dominate the fight. In the seventh round, he knocked Sánchez down twice, leading to a knockout victory and two further regional titles to Kabayel's name.

WBC interim heavyweight champion Kabayel vs. Zhang On 22 February 2025, Agit Kabayel faced the former WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang at The Last Crescendo event in the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title. Kabayel won by knockout in the sixth round, becoming the first person to stop the otherwise durable Zhang. After weathering Zhang's pressure in the first round, Kabayel maintained a relentless body attack over the remainder of the fight, gradually slowing Zhang down round by round; despite suffering a knockdown in the fifth, Kabayel recovered and continued to pressure Zhang to the body, who was ultimately counted out after a hard shot to the liver forced him to take a knee. This win improved Kabayel's record to 26–0 and earned him the interim title.

Kabayel vs. Knyba On 4 November 2025, it was announced that Kabayel would defend his interim title against the undefeated Damian Knyba (17–0, 11 KOs) in Oberhausen, Germany, scheduled for 10 January 2026. Kabayel struggled in the first round against his 2.01m opponent, who used his significant height and reach advantage to land several hard shots to Kabayel's face, opening a cut over his right eye. Nevertheless, Kabayel retook control of the fight, negating Knyba's reach advantage with his own pressure and increasingly landing his own punches to the head. Kabayel ultimately won in the third round after the referee waved off the fight, though the stoppage was deemed premature by some, including Knyba, who appeared to still be fighting back and attempting to defend himself.

WBC heavyweight champion Following his victory over Zhilei Zhang, Kabayel was positioned as the mandatory challenger for the undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. In June 2026, Usyk unexpectedly vacated all his titles (WBC, WBA, IBF), leading the WBC to officially elevate Kabayel from interim champion to the full WBC heavyweight champion. With this elevation, Kabayel became the first German world heavyweight champion since Max Schmeling in 1932, as well as the first champion of Kurdish descent in boxing history.

Kabayel vs. Hysa In October 2026, Queensberry Promotions officially announced that Kabayel's first defense of the WBC title is scheduled against undefeated Albanian contender Nelson Hysa. The bout is scheduled for 28 November 2026, at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Personal life Kabayel currently still resides in Bochum and lives in a multifamily residential with his wife, daughter, parents and other family members. After his fight against Makhmudov he became a millionaire. One of his cousins is KC Rebell, a Kurdish-German rapper. Kabayel openly embraces his Kurdish origins while also acknowledging the role Germany played in his personal and professional development. Therefore, he sees himself as "Kurdish and [...] German." Besides enjoying broad support within the Kurdish community in Germany, he also has many fans in Kurdish regions abroad. In April 2025, he visited the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where he met with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. In an interview, he stated that during his visit he felt he was "celebrated there as a national hero, and that this was an honor." He is also a brand ambassador for Visit Kurdistan, promoting tourism in the Kurdistan Region. Kabayel is a supporter of the German national football team.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes27Win27–0Damian KnybaTKO3 (12), 10 Jan 202626Win26–0Zhilei ZhangKO6 (12), 22 Feb 202525Win25–0Frank SánchezKO7 (12), 18 May 202424Win24–0Arslanbek MakhmudovTKO4 (10), 23 Dec 202323Win23–0Agron SmakiciTKO3 (12), 4 Mar 202322Win22–0Pavel SourTKO1 (8), 14 May 202221Win21–0Kevin JohnsonUD125 Jun 202120Win20–0Evgenios LazaridisUD1018 Jul 202019Win19–0Andriy RudenkoUD122 Mar 201918Win18–0Miljan RovcaninTKO3 (12), 21 Apr 201817Win17–0Derek Chisora124 Nov 201716Win16–0Herve Hubeaux1224 Feb 201715Win15–0Christian LewandowskiKO7 (12), 4 Jun 201614Win14–0Lawrence TauasaTKO3 (8), 9 Jan 201613Win13–0Shalva JomardashviliKO1 (8), 5 Dec 201512Win12–0Maksym PedyuraTKO2 (8)17 Oct 201511Win11–0Artsiom CharniakevichTKO3 (10)14 Dec 201410Win10–0Gbenga Oloukun1022 Mar 20149Win9–0Wladimir Letr1 (6), 1 Feb 20148Win8–0Pavel SiskaTKO2 (8), 15 Dec 20137Win7–0Alexander KahlTKO1 (6), 27 Sep 20136Win6–0Engin SolmazTKO2 (6), 27 Jul 20135Win5–0Ivan ĆirkovićTKO2 (6), 6 Apr 20134Win4–0Waldemar PahlPTS42 Jun 20123Win3–0Waldemar PahlTKO3 (4), 30 Mar 20122Win2–0Selcuk Dinc423 Jul 20111Win1–0Yeton Abdullah4 (4)23 Jun 2011

Titles in boxing Major world titles WBC heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Interim titles WBC Interim heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Regional/International titles WBC Mediterranean heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) European Union heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) European heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) (x2) WBA Continental heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBC–NABF heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBA Intercontinental heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion (200+ lbs) WBO–NABO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Agit Kabayel

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