Agit Kabayel has been counted out more times than he can remember.

Against Derek Chisora in 2017, oddsmakers picked him to come up short. They were also against him in matchups against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez. Luckily for Kabayel, he doesn’t allow the conjecture of outsiders to get in his head.

Still, even with multiple upset wins under his belt, the betting world hasn’t learned its lesson. Pegged as a slight underdog again, Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) is in the exact place that’s worked for him.

On February 22nd in Saudi Arabia, Zhilei Zhang is the next heavyweight that will step up to the plate. The Chinese star is as dangerous as they come and, thanks to a knockout win over Deontay Wilder recently, has all of the confidence in the world.

Putting his chin in the air and going blow for blow with Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) is a recipe for disaster. So instead of testing his grit against a man with almost as many knockouts as he has fights, Kabayel plans on taking advantage in other areas.

“He’s a strong guy but I have better skills than him,” explained Kabayel to Seconds Out. “He has more power maybe, I have better skills. We will test it.”

Zhang would be the first person to tell you how disappointed he was in his majority decision draw against Jerry Forrest in 2021. He then hit rock bottom after Filip Hrgovic outpointed him. Still, The Ring’s No. 4 ranked heavyweight didn’t wait for a helping hand. He picked himself up off the mat and went to work.

Wins over Joe Joyce and Deontay Wilder revitalized the 41-year-old. But sandwiched in between those victories was a loss to Joseph Parker.

Studying his opponents, outside of punching them in the face, is something Kabayel enjoys doing. So unsurprisingly, he’s been observing Zhang’s every move. Not only does he plan on juxtaposing his recent performances to past ones but he also intends on paying close attention to what Parker did.

“Yes, of course," when asked if he takes anything away from what Parker did against Zhang. "I watch every fight from Zhang. We will see on the 22nd.”