You do know Kabayel is already next for Usyk,why risk it all when he is so close,no Management/Promoter in the World would advise there Boxer to do that when there fighter is sitting in the position that Kabayel is !
True. Point taken. Hrgovic and Whyte, and Parker waited too. And it was mainly Fury's BS that stalled the division. Kabayel/Fury is almost as big as any belt fight against a non-U.S./Brit ... and would shut Fury out of the equation. Unfortunately the way things are backed up after all the stalling, and ducking Kabayel's shot may be a long while off yet. Hope not tho. I really like Usyk but would prefer he just retired at this stage.
That approach robbed Joyce of a world title shot and some big Saudi pay days. Not disagreeing with you by the way, I agree that that’s what the fans want to see.
I don't think fighters are 'scared' of Kabayel, it's just that there's no upside. His team have done a terrible job marketing him so financially it's a terrible fight for most challengers looking at earning a title shot. If you have a HW prospect/challenger right now, get him over to Europe/The UK specifically, and build your brand by fighting their domestic guys. Some forget Kabayel fought Chisora in 2017, but even that was foolish, as it was in Monaco, not the UK. Kabayel should've been in the UK feeding off Chisora, Whyte, Joyce etc. Instead, that's what Itauma has been doing and he's exceeded Kabayel in terms of reputation by the boxing public. Kabayel deserves to get a shot at a title....But he also deserves for that shot to be against Itauma, which he loses and then comes to the realisation he's wasted his career, when he could have stepped up and increased his reputation with boxing fans much sooner.
Criticizing Usyk is ridiculous, the guy has cleaned up the CW and HW scenes because he would fight anyone anywhere. I also think the WBC stripping him makes a mockery of the belt, given Wilder was able to fight bum after bum for years whilst holding the belt. I genuinely think the WBC is the least reputable belt these days, which is a sad thing to say. But you can't allow Wilder to fight cans for years, but then strip the unified CW and HW champ after a few months. Usyk fought a unification less than 12 months ago, and in the last two years has also fought the (now previous) Lineal HW champion twice.....Wilder was allowed to fight Molina, Duhaupas, Szpilka, Breazeale etc.
I’m a fan of Usyk and by far he is the best Heavyweight of this era and has beaten the people he needed to on the road to take there Belts/Titles. In nearly eight years as a heavyweight he has had nine Heavyweight fights and in his whole Heavyweight career has only fought 5 different Heavyweight fighters. Usyk has held the WBC title since May 2024,so two year next month.Wilder call him what you want but he was active, as Champion in the same time period had made 5 defences. Now here is my criticism of Usyk,Parker mandatory no fight (WBO) Wardley mandatory (Gave up WBO belt). Let’s not forget Usyk as WBO Cruiserweight Champion was made WBO mandatory to Joshua as soon as he moved up. Kabayel mandatory (WBC) next in line to Usyk,meanwhile Usyk takes a cross over fight with kick-boxer Rico Verhoeven whilst the Heavyweight Division waits to see what/when Usyk plans to do next,will he fight Kabayel,will he give up the belt,will he be stripped of the belt ?
That exact same approach also robbed Hrgovic (IBF mandatory) Parker (WBO mandatory) losing them multi millions in the process ! At least Wardley got the WBO belt as mandatory when Usyk gave it up .
Kabayel would absolutely destroy the Wilder we saw Saturday night. I had figured he’d be booking fights quickly after his show in Germany proved that he can sell out a stadium there. Kabayel fighting for a world title in Germany probably sells out their biggest stadium; you’d think that at least Wardley would be interested.
That massively depends on who Kabayel actually fights, if he is going to sell out the Dortmund stadium that holds over 80,000 people.... At this rate of opponents, he wouldn't even sell out one stand.
Last fight, he sold out whatever stadium that was in a few days, and he was fighting a relative nobody. Crowd atmosphere was insane -- they made a British crowd look like a Saudi crowd. He's become a legit star in Germany. Like an AJ or a Fury to them.
I sometimes wonder if Kabayel is...overrated. I know you can only beat what is put there, but wins over Sanchez, Mak and Zhang seem to have elevated him to the divisions boogeyman and none of those three are exactly stellar. Zhang hits like a truck, and he did well to get up when hit, but his gas tank can be measured in egg cups and its getting smaller every fight. Mak is European level at best and Sanchez is, well, Sanchez. Yes he has a fan friendly style, yes he seems like a decent fella, and yes, I'd LOVE him to be the real deal, but I suspect he is a little short of absolute potential and big on heart and engine...and you know what, sometimes thats enough, particularly in this heavyweight landscape
Kabayel just doesnt fit in the Usyk Saga. Usyk has done his career and achieved it all. He aint chasing any titles and fighers no more. Hes all about finishing his career and retire minding other business. Only Fury III for a last dance makes sense, because its them who defined their era. Dubois was lucky to have the controversy in the first fight so Usyk had to erase it in a rematch. Kabayel is doing good. He should continue what hes done so far and stay a bit more active. If he continues his path, a title fight will come along his way sooner than later. Were in a post Usyk-Fury era and right before the new era. Some interim period where no matter who gets the titles it wont be as exciting as it was chasing the first undisputed after 25 years.
