Day 4 of DAZN News' 10 New Year's Resolutions for Boxing: To get a more active Agit Kabayel and in bigger fights

Agit Kabayel was masterful in working the body and head toward becoming the first man to stop Zhilei Zhang.

But after pummeling ‘Big Bang’ toward that sixth-round knockout in their February 2025 Riyadh Season bout, Kabayel did not fight again for the remainder of the year.

In fact, it is sort of becoming a running theme in the German heavyweight’s career as his seventh-round KO of Cuban fighter Frank Sanchez in May 2024 was his sole work that year as well.

This all brings us to DAZN News’ fourth New Year’s Resolution for boxing in 2026:

To get a more active Agit Kabayel and in bigger fights

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

The undefeated Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) will put his WBC interim heavyweight title on the line against unbeaten Polish fighter Damian Knyba (17-0, 11 KOs) at Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen, Germany on Saturday, live on DAZN .

The bout will have Kabayel surrendering four inches in height and six inches of reach to the 6-foot-7 Knyba, making this appear as a tough test this weekend. But regardless of the result, we hope it is the first of a few big bouts for the German star who checks all of the boxes at heavyweight.

Kabayel rips the body with ferocity while possessesing the accuracy of a surgeon, pinpointing his power output to explosive results, while earning praise from critics, fans and his contemporaries alike.

“We look at it from a body perspective but Agit works the head and body,” Anthony Joshua, a sparring partner of Kabayel’s, told BoxNation last year. “You just don’t know where it’s coming from. He doesn’t put power in every shot. So in a sense it’s like touch, touch, heavy. Touch, touch, heavy.”

It's a spot-on assessment for the methodical, potent punching Kabayel is able to produce. The physical attributes are there as is the ring IQ.

The issue is the activity.

After three consecutive fights in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Kabayel has his homecoming fight back in Germany. If successful, it is just too early in the year for the 33-year-old to not make another ring appearance in 2026.

Yes, his WBC interim title makes him a mandatory challenger for unified heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk. In fact, it was Usyk who presented Kabayel with the interim belt last February following the victory over Zhang but we did not see the German in the ring again.

To avoid a repeat episode this year, we are imploring Kabayel for a more active 2026.

If he is able to get a win this weekend, even if the Usyk fight does not materialize soon thereafter, Kabayel should have suitors to line up against.

Perhaps it is Daniel Dubois as the two have traded words before, or maybe Lawrence Okolie. Whoever it is, a high-profile name needs to be attached to Kabayel to get further to the root of what this man is capable of at heavyweight in 2026 and beyond.

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