Agit Kabayel cannot wait to fight in Germany for the first time in almost three years.
The unbeaten German heavyweight contender’s return to the ring was announced last week by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions for January 10 at Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen. The Ring’s third-ranked contender doesn’t have an opponent, but Kabayel obviously isn’t seeking someone just to keep the WBC interim champion busy based on what he suggested following
Fabio Wardley’s 11th-round stoppage of
Joseph Parker on Saturday night at O2 Arena in London.
“I’m happy for this,” Kabayel told The Ring. “You know, I [have] a homecoming fight. All fans [in Germany] wait for this fight. But the problem – we have no opponent, you know? We wait for the good opponent. I heard
Daniel [Dubois] have also no opponent in the UK. Why not Kabayel versus Daniel? I heard he have no opponent. I’m ready for everyone. You know, I am sportman. I hate trash talk. The people say this is a good fight for the fans or no, it’s not a good fight, Kabayel versus Daniel. I think so.”
Like Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs), Dubois is represented by Queensberry Promotions. It isn’t clear, however, if London’s Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) would consider such a dangerous assignment in the former IBF champion’s return early in 2026 from a fifth-round knockout loss to undisputed champ
Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Dubois, 28, would be a fourth straight formidable foe for Kabayel, who has developed into one of boxing’s best heavyweights since December 2023.
The 33-year-old Kabayel knocked out Russia’s
Arslanbek Makhmudov in the fourth round 22 months ago. He dropped a then-undefeated Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) three times, all with body blows, until their scheduled 10-rounder was stopped.
Kabayel’s transformative run continued with knockouts of unbeaten Cuban contender
Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) and heavy-handed Chinese southpaw
Zhilei Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs). He hasn’t fought in the eight months since he knocked out Zhang with a body shot in the sixth round February 22.
Kabayel’s victories over Makhmudov, Sanchez and Zhang all took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He hasn’t boxed in Germany since March 2023, when he beat Croatia’s
Agron Smakici (21-3, 19 KOs) by third-round technical knockout at RuhrCongress in Bochum.
Dubois,
ranked fourth by The Ring, has lost only to Ukraine’s Usyk (twice) and British rival
Joe Joyce, all by knockout.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.