Agit Kabayel vs. Damian Knyba set for January 10.

He's an interim champion.

And contrary to popular belief, guys don't get avoided when they have either belts or offer a route to a shot at one.

Unless he's demanding a ridiculous share of the cut, despite bringing limited attention, that isn't likely to be an issue purely because of positioning.

Far more often than not, when a guy with position isn't getting good fights made it's either because he doesn't want the smoke, he's asking too much money, or both.

No, I'm sorry, this is excuse making and I'm not buying it.

 

Oh cmon.

I can see why "they" (whoever they are) might want him back off the scene, because punk behaviour like targeting D level fighters whilst highly ranked is poor form, and makes it less likely that the fighter is going to raise their profile and start making more money for orgs, etc...

But this is not a landmine - this is like setting a puddle as a trap and hoping he drowns himself in it.
It's technically not impossible, but it's practically speaking safe enough that it's ridiculous to think it'd actually happen.

If Kabayel finds a way to lose this, he deserves all the ridicule he'll get... He won't, though.

 

You can believe what you want but Kabayel posted a video of himself challenging Dubois on his IG at the end of October, and everyone can see it. Even media outlets like Ring Magazine have written about it, so for me it's a fact. I don't think it's worth it for Dubois to face Kabayel now, given that he's coming off a knockout loss and needs to bounce back. It's better to face a softer opponent like Frank Sanchez, Warren probably thought so.

 

Be that as it may, the choice of opponent is disappointing. Had he fought Dubois, I am pretty sure I would have travelled to see my first professional fight in person (only watched amateur bouts and watched professional ones at home so far).

With knyba this is out of the question since it is closer to me than usual but still quite a bit of travelling and I don't want to approve of the choice of opponent by buying tickets.

 

The call out is a fact.

Kabayel actually wanting to fight is not necessarily the same thing.

It all depends whether the call out was purely for attention or whether he meant it.

Maybe, then again Dubois might think it's worth it to get back up the title shot queue...

And Warren might just be keen to avoid putting them together in case it devalues one of them - that's more likely than him thinking Dubois needs a soft touch.


And of course, it goes without saying there's a massive chasm between potentially fighting Dubois and fighting Knyba... A hell of a lot of better opponents would've been available.

 

Everyone is free to think what they want, have a nice day.

 

Sold out already. 12.000 tickets.

And people said Kabayel couldn't sell!

 

Is Knyba really a bad opponent?

 

Heres the thing Knyba is NOT a bad opponent you need to have an "excuse" for fighting. Hes an undefeated 6'7 29 year old. You're going to say "hes beaten no one". That doesn't mean hes not elite theres just no proof. Almost no ones beaten anyone because no ones risking their pretty record if they don't get a title shot.

If the champs kept it moving theres nothing wrong with Knyba getting a title shot.

Muhammad Ali was a "Knyba" before he fought Liston and so have been many other legends.

 

He's huge, he can box, and he is punching with more power these days. People could be sleeping on him.

BUT...

He is inexperienced at any real competitive level, and he wastes too much time on pitty-pat punching.

 

Just over 2 years ago, Kabayel was seen by most about the same as Knyba is being seen now. I even remember people thinking he wasn't a good enough opponent to test Makhmudov!

Knyba might be good. He might not be. When an undefeated fighter hasn't mixed in the better class of fighters, it is not easy to judge. Kabayel is unlikely to get credit for beating him easily, never mind if he struggles. But if Knyba pulls an upset, hopefully they both get a bit of credit.

 

There's two parts to this...

First is the quick and simple one - Makh was ridiculously overrated for a guy who'd done very little.


Second is... Kabayel actually was seen as a bit of a joke at that point, not entirely without justification.

Yes, he'd beaten the gatekeeper in Chisora, but that was way back.
Running into Makh, he'd fought six domestic level journeymen in six years, and only stopped three of them (stopped Rovcanin, Sour and Smakici - didn't stop Rudenko, Lazaridis or Johnson). And if you've only heard of Johnson out of that lot, don't worry, you won't be alone - we're not talking about stiff competition here.

Realistically, though, it's almost always better to assume they're not.
And you'll usually be correct.

Simply put, the further up the tree you go, the fewer guys can make it - so for every guy who made it, there will be lots that looked like they had similar potential at some point.

You're right about Kabayel not getting much credit for an easy win - at least not from fans who know their boxing... Then again, those desperate to drive the hype will find a way.

I suspect if Knyba somehow wins, it'll grenade the hype for Kabayel and he'll have to prove himself again... And Knyba will get a lot of hype...

It's extremely unlikely that Kabayel struggles, though - if you're Kabayel's agent, you don't take a no-mark fight that gives very low credit unless you're very sure your boy wins it.