WBC president gives update on interim champion Agit Kabayel facing Oleksandr Usyk in 2026

The heavyweight division is an intriguing place right now. 

Fabio Wardley's stoppage win over Joseph Parker on Saturday night has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons with Wardley, who held the WBA's interim heavyweight title, jumping to the queue to become the WBO's mandatory challenger for undisputed ruler Oleksandr Usyk and is now the next man to face the Ukrainian. 

One man waiting in the wings for his opportunity at heavyweight glory is WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel. 

The German burst on to the scene with his stoppage win against Arslanbek Makhmudov in 2023, then knockout victories over Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang have made Kabayel a serious force at heavyweight.

While Kabayel awaits his shot at Usyk, he will return to his home country on January 10, live on DAZN, where he will defend his interim belt against an unnamed opponent in Oberhausen. 

As long as Kabayel comes through his next test unscathed, then it would be no surprise if he will be called as the mandatory challenger to Usyk who holds the full WBC heavyweight title. 

Speaking to Hard Rock Bet, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman clarified the current situation surrounding Kabayel and revealed when the sanctioning body will make a decision when it comes to installing the German as a mandatory challenger to Usyk. 

"We have the WBC Convention coming up in December, and that’s where we will review every weight category and make the assessment and ruling on each category," Sulaiman said.

"The WBC, specifically on heavyweight, has been very flexible and lenient in order to secure the greatest fights in the division. We were very proactive in supporting the unification that led to the undisputed championship.

"So, we had Oleksandr Usyk defeating Tyson Fury, then the rematch. For some reason, Daniel Dubois had become the IBF champion, and Oleksandr Usyk was not undisputed, but now he is once again undisputed. The WBC has the interim champion in Kabayel, and I believe he’s going to be defending his title in January. 

"But as I said, we’re going to review the heavyweight category as well as all of them during the convention."

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