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Five classic heavyweight fights to take place in Germany
Agit Kabayel makes his homecoming to Germany when he takes on Damian Knyba in Oberhausen on Saturday.
The home fighter defends his WBC interim heavyweight crown against the unbeaten Pole at a sold out Rudolf Weber Arena, live on DAZN.
Kabayel is closing in on a world title shot after three big wins in Riyadh and this contest signals a return of big-time boxing to Germany.
DAZN News looks back at five of the biggest heavyweight fights to take place in Germany.
Max Schmeling W-TKO9 Walter Neusel (Hamburg, 1934)
Fighting in Germany for the first time since 1928, Schmeling drew a record crowd of 102,000 for his big homecoming against countryman Neusel .
It was four years since Schmeling became the only German to win a heavyweight world title with this disqualification victory over Jack Sharkey, and two years since he lost the title to the same opponent in controversial circumstances.
Schmeling, who famously went on to fight Joe Louis in two bouts, won the homecoming fight via ninth-round TKO and the attendance remains the biggest for a boxing match in Europe.
Muhammed Ali W-TKO12 Karl Mildenburger (Frankfurt, 1966)
Still going by the name of Cassius Clay at the time, Ali was unbeaten in 25 outings and very much at his peak when he arrived in Germany to face local hope Mildenburger.
The Waldstadion in Frankfurt was packed for the event and after a bright start from southpaw Mildenburger, Ali’s skills took over and he dropped his man rounds five, eight and ten.
After staggering into the ropes following a hard right hand from the champion, Mildenburger was stopped by the referee in round twelve to complete a dominant victory for Ali.
Ali fought only twice more before his infamous exile from the sport.
Michael Moorer W-SD Axl Shultz (Stuttgart, 1996)
Having lost a split decision to Frans Botha seven months earlier, only for that to be ruled a no contest after the latter failed a drugs test, hopes were high that Shultz could become Germany’s the heavyweight champion.
It was the biggest boxing event in Germany for 30 years and the locals turned out at the Westfalen Stadion in their droves for this IBF title contest, but they were quickly silenced by a fast start from Moorer.
Shultz stunned the American champion with a flurry in round seven and finished the fight strongly enough for the result to be in question after twelve rounds.
While one judge scored it115–113 for Schulz, the other two had it 116–113 and 115–113 in favour of Moorer to give him a split decision victory.
Wladimir Klitschko W-UD David Haye (Altona, 2011)
Hailing from the Ukraine, Germany was the adopted fighting home of Klitschko and he was making the tenth defence of his second title reign against Haye, who was considered the biggest threat to Klitschko’s throne at the time.
Having won the belt in Germany twenty months earlier against Nikolia Valuev, former cruiserweight king Haye brought the WBA strap to the table and a stadium as big as the impressive Imtech-Arena was needed for this huge showdown.
After a buildup full of bad blood, Klitschko controlled the bout behind his jab for large periods as Haye was unable to close the gap against the bigger man and the former claimed a decision by a wide margin on all three scorecards.
Tyson Fury W-UD Wladimir Klitschko (Duesseldorf, 2015)
Eight defences and four years after he beat Haye, Klitschko faced another loud-mouthed Brit at a packed stadium in the shape of Fury.
Twelve years younger and unbeaten in 25 fights, Fury seemed to unnerve Klitschko with his bizarre pre-right antics - including dressing up as the superhero Batman and flooring a villain at a press conference.
Over eleven years since his last defeat, Klitschko was a warm favourite but struggled to land his punches on the elusive challenger, who used feints and switch-hitting to great effect.
Constantly beating a seemingly gun-shy Klitschko to the punch, Fury looked to have built up a healthy lead by the championship rounds and managed to thwart a late surge by the home favourite.
With scores of 115-112 (twice) and 116-11 in his favour, Fury claimed the belts with a famous victory and it remains one of the best wins from a British fighter on away soil.
Watch Kabayel vs. Knyba with a DAZN subscription
January starts with a heavyweight bang as Agit Kabayel takes the next steps towards a world title shot as he face Damian Knyba this Saturday, January 10, exclusively on DAZN Watch with a subscription, monthly and annual options available.
