Who wins right now Kabayel v Joshua ?

No, I back Kabayel to beat a lot of heavyweights currently, especially after his most recent performance. I like Kabayel and have a lot of respect for him, I just think he's gonna be venerable to AJs most dangerous and underrated tool = the uppercut.

 

It's really not that long ago that Kabayel was considered a joke opponent for AJ when it was rumoured it might happen...


It all hinges on whether the answer to both these questions is "yes":
1) Is AJ really shot now?
2) Does Kabayel stand up to his current hype?

What's unclear, yet, is whether Joshua's still a legit contender or not - his performance against Dubois was bad, but was it representative of where he is now, or was it a fluke.

It's also unclear whether Kabayel is really a championship level fighter - Joshua definitely was (until after his Usyk losses at very least) but may not be now, but Kabayel's only got one win against any kind of contender.


Lots of questions... But a lot of assumption and hype involved in the confidence behind plenty of responses here, IMHO.

It'd be a good fight for both to get made and show where they really are... It'd be great to see it.

 

Even if AJ isn't shot, Kabayel smokes him.

AJs only meaningful victory in years is Wallin, Kabayel has just beaten Makh, Sanchez and Zhang in a row. He's also beaten Chisora.

Kabayel twats AJ if they fight now.

 

Makh and Sanchez are not significant wins - they're overblown prospects who will never get anywhere near the top rungs, those aren't wins that will age particularly well.

And if you're judging AJ on recent form then Kabayel having beaten Chisora 7-8 years ago isn't going to count, either.

Zhang's a good win, no question, but he's overrated as most huge punchers always are - and that one fringe contender* level win doesn't automatically make Kabayel a top tier fighter after years of fighting journeymen and prospects.
(* And "fringe contender" is at best - he's approximately 50/50 against contenders: beat overhyped Joyce and overhyped Wilder, lost to Parker and Kabayel, 50/50 loss to overrated Hrgovic... Two of his losses, Kabayel and Hrgovic, don't have a single other contender level win as yet).

If Kabayel wasn't the current favourite fighter to overhype (especially after the main hype-rival, Bakole, lost) then a lot more questions would be getting asked - if AJ, Whyte, Chisora or maybe even Wilder had beaten Zhang that easily (at nearly 42 years old), then some quite reasonable questions would get asked about whether his age had finally caught up with him, whether he was ever all that good with his limited speed and very limited stamina, etc... but because it's Kabayel and it suits the hype narrative? Nope, Zhang's a legit murderer who makes Kabayel into the next best thing to Usyk who deserves the next shot (he doesn't).


Again, it's a good win - but I think there's been a bit of overreaction here as there always is when a current hype favourite gets a good win.

 

Money on Kabayel

 

That was the rumour but it turned out to be Joey Dawejko who KO'd AJ apparently.