PATERSON, New Jersey – Eddie Hearn announced this week that Anthony Joshua will sit ringside to watch Daniel Dubois defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on Saturday night. Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) violently knocked out Joshua in the fifth round and retained his IBF belt before an enormous capacity crowd of approximately 96,000 on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London. Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) was undefeated when he out-pointed Parker unanimously in their heavyweight title unification fight in March 2018 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Whoever wins between New Zealand’s Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) and late substitute Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs), the new co-feature of the stacked pay-per-view show at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, would be a natural next opponent for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs). Zhilei Zhang, ranked No. 4 among The Ring’s heavyweight contenders, hopes Joshua isn’t present when he squares off against Agit Kabayel, who is rated fifth by The Ring, earlier on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitriy Bivol undercard Saturday night. According to the gigantic Chinese southpaw, witnessing what he plans to do to Kabayel would only further dissuade Joshua from considering Zhang for his first fight following that devastating Dubois defeat.

Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) and Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) will square off for the WBC Middleweight title. Additional bouts to look forward to include Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) clashing with Israil Madrimov (10-1, 7 KOs) for the WBC interim super welterweight title and Zhilei Zhang (27-2, 22 KOs) meeting Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) for the WBC interim heavyweight title. British stars Joshua Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) and Callum Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) are going to battle it out for the interim WBO light heavyweight title. The preliminary card will showcase local talent with Ziyad Almaayouf (6-0-1, 1 KO) taking on Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-20, 5 KOs) in a welterweight bout and super featherweight Mohammed Alakel (2-0, 0 KOs) meets Engel Gomez (8-42, 4 KOs) in six round bouts.

Zhilei Zhang has dared Agit Kabayel to employ his patented body attack when the two meet on this weekend’s mammoth ‘The Last Crescendo’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Agit Kabayel has appreciated the high praise that has come with his willingness to next face Zhilei Zhang.

It’s the Last Crescendo. Artur Beterbiev defends his Undisputed World Light Heavyweight World Titles against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in an unmissable rematch, headlining an iconic Riyadh Season extravaganza - live worldwide on DAZN. (photos by Mark Robinson)

Every fight represents something different to Agit Kabayel than is the case for most other heavyweights. It has been decades since a Germany-born boxer has enjoyed a significant presence in the heavyweight division. Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) isn’t at the pinnacle yet, though it’s a big reason why he was quick to join the Riyadh Season circuit—the one place where he can land the big fights he’s always sought.

One by one, Agit Kabayel is hunting down the bogeymen of the heavyweight division. The 32 year-old German has been a known commodity on the European scene since he successfully defended his EBU title against Dereck Chisora all the way back in 2017. That victory - which has aged extremely well - may not have propelled him to the heights he might have expected but Kabayel has been one of the major beneficiaries of Riyadh Season’s investment in the heavyweight division.

AFTER contrasting performances against Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder in the first-half of 2024, longtime heavyweight contender Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) found himself in a healthy position.

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.

It’s the Last Crescendo. Artur Beterbiev defends his Undisputed World Light Heavyweight World Titles against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in an unmissable rematch, headlining an Riyadh Season extravaganza - live worldwide on DAZN. (photos by Mark Robinson)