Agit Kabayel's 2026 has begun as he hopes to continue.

It took a round to shake off the rust after an 11-month layoff, having rallied from a career-first knockdown to brutally stop Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia last February, though The Ring's No. 2 heavyweight defended his WBC interim world title sharply on home soil with a third-round KO of Poland's Damian Knyba (17-1, 11 KOs).

Knyba kept him honest during the opening exchanges, armed with a six-inch reach advantage plus the vigour of an unbeaten heavyweight with nothing to lose in their DAZN headliner from Oberhausen's Rudolf Weber-Arena.

Kabayel's right eye was a crimson red and in need of work from his corner after a frenzied first round where Knyba caught him clean in their close-range exchanges, perhaps more often than even he expected. Cut in an awkward spot just above the eyelid, that didn't stop the forward pressure, though Knyba responded by curling hooks through the guard.

Chopping right hands at short distance were doing the trick for Kabayel, who grew in confidence with each passing minute and that culminated with a gruelling third round.

Knyba showed his durability, though you could hear the ever-increasing noise swell after each damaging blow hit his mid-section, or the Pole's chin, in anticipation of a big finish.

A sellout 12,000 crowd basked in the excitement of a marquee show in Germany for the first time since 2020, and soon enough they would have their long-awaited outcome, albeit with referee Mark Lyson's early trigger after seeing Knyba absorb one too many clean shots.

The New Jersey-based puncher, 29, was noticeably displeased with Lyson's decision to wave it off and not give him an opportunity to recover, though his justified protestations fell on deaf ears in enemy territory where he would've known what he signed up for.

Filip Hrgovic (19-1, 14 KOs), rated No. 4 by The Ring in the glamour division, as well as former WBO cruiserweight beltholder Lawrence Okolie (23-1, 17 KOs) and Olympic 2016 champion Tony Yoka all in attendance casting their eye on a potential future opponent.

Jadier Herrera (18-0, 16 KOs) passed his latest test but it was far from straightforward.

The exciting Cuban southpaw, 23, climbed off the canvas after eating a right-hand howitzer in the opening round and endured a rough start before outworking and finishing longtime contender Ricardo Nunez in eight to clinch the WBC interim lightweight title.

After referee Daniel Van de Wiele returned to his feet and waved off the contest, Herera's wild celebrations suggest he believes it's inevitable he'll be elevated to full champion, seeing as reigning beltholder Shakur Stevenson is moving up in weight again and will face Teofimo Lopez for The Ring and WBO 140-pound titles atop The Ring 6 card on January 31.

Panamanian veteran Nunez (26-8, 22 KOs) couldn't believe his luck in the early stages of their scheduled 12-round interim title fight though, landing hooks and piercing through the Joe McNally-trained contender's leaky defences all too easily. That success wouldn't last.

Herrera found his groove behind the left hand and was unbothered absorbing heat to fire off his own, wearing down Nunez in the middle rounds before rocking him into submission.

It wasn't long ago Queensberry chief Frank Warren told The Ring's Declan Taylor that Stevenson swerved a short-notice opportunity to defend his WBC strap against Herrera, achieving a career-best win with the added caveat of a shorter four-week training block.

Heavy: Petar Milas TKO10 Granit Shala

Junior lightweight: Nelson Birchall RTD5 Wilbert Panttin

Heavy: Roman Fury TKO4 Kevin Greenwood

Heavy: Nelvie Tiafack TKO2 Piotr Cwik

Heavy: Kevin Saszik KO1 Brian Zwart

Heavyweight: Daniel Dietz MD6 (57-57) Seun Salami

Middleweight: Gleb Bakshi TKO1 Juan Jose Rodriguez Duran

Cruiserweight: Oronzo Birardi KO4 Milosav Savic