WBC Confirms Agit Kabayel as Oleksandr Usyk's Next Opponent

JAKARTA - The World Boxing Council (WBC) has confirmed that Agit Kabayel will be the next opponent of three-time undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk, who just won against Rico Verhoeven at the weekend.

President of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaiman, said that Agit had proven himself as one of the best fighters today so he deserved the opportunity to face the Ukrainian champion.

"Agit is the WBC interim champion and mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk," Mauricio said at an event at the Arroyo Restaurant when David Benavidez received a special Commemorative Tollan Tlatequi belt for his success in defeating Gilberto Ramirez.

Agit, who is currently 33 years old or six years younger than Usyk, is the leading name that immediately emerged as a challenger after Usyk defeated Rico at the Giza Pyramids.

The German fighter was present at the edge of the ring in Egypt and immediately challenged Usyk after the controversial ending of the fight.

"The fight between Agit and Oleksandr must happen this year. We will order it and then we will see how it goes," said Mauricio.

On paper, Agit always comes out as the winner in the 27 professional fights he has been through. Of those, 19 of them he stopped his opponent with a knockout (KO).

Usyk also has an impressive record of a total of 25 professional fights he has taken. He managed to defeat all his opponents, six of whom were knocked out although the duel with Rico still sparked debate.

The controversy of Usyk's last fight occurred because of the referee's decision to stop the fight in the last second of the 11th round. Many people think that the clash should have been allowed to finish.

However, Mauricio has a different view and agrees with the referee's decision. He also called the fight very sensational because it brought together the WBC champion with a kickboxing world champion.

"Usyk won and I commend the referee. I am very proud of Mark Lyson because the responsibility of a referee is to protect the integrity and safety of the boxer."

"He doesn't care about the bell sound. He looks at the boxer's eyes that are hit and how bad his condition is," he said.