There is quite a bit of heavyweight news circulating. As we await the potential car crash that is the Anthony Joshua-Jake Paul “fight,” some more legit bouts are being looked at. Agit Kabayel, the WBC interim champion at heavyweight, spoke again with Sky Sports, and the unbeaten German stated that the fans feel he is “the best fight for Oleksandr Usyk” to take next.
We await news of Usyk’s plans, with the former two-time unified, four-belt heavyweight ruler having last boxed in the summer, this his rematch win over Daniel Dubois. Why is Usyk a former two-time four-belt heavyweight champ? Because, as we know, the 38 year old recently vacated his WBO title, this leaving Usyk as the WBA/IBF/WBC ruler.
Is Kabayel Really the Man Fans Want for Usyk?
Kabayel, who will face a potentially dangerous Damian Knyba in a German homecoming in January, says the people want to see Usyk fight him when he does return to the ring.
“I will stay humble but I think the people say Kabayel is the best fight [for Usyk],” Kabayel said. “After the fight with [Zhilei] Zhang people understand that is the Kabayel level. Frank Sanchez is also a very good boxer. I think for me the win over Zhang was bigger. I believe in myself. But after the win over Zhang all the people in boxing say Kabayel is a world-class boxer. This is my dream – I bring boxing back to Germany. The Kabayel era’s started.”
Heavyweight Updates: Whyte Rejects Okolie Offer
It would be great to see Usyk, a proven road warrior, agree to face Kabayel in Germany. First, though, Kabayel must not make the mistake so many fighters can be guilty of making, and that’s look past their upcoming opponent. Knyba can punch and he is a big guy, and Kabayel has been inactive for the better part of a year. A January upset aside, however, Kabayel is almost certainly correct when he says he is the man we most want to see Usyk match his wits and his skills against. Fabio Wardley would also have been a very interesting challenge for Usyk, but again, Usyk surprised us all by dropping the WBO belt instead of taking that fight.
In other heavyweight news, it seems the fight with bitter bad blood rival Lawrence Okolie is not one Dillian Whyte will take, at least not next. Not unless he and his team receive another offer – one that is not “embarrassing.” Speaking with Talk Sport, Whyte’s manager Michael Ofo said the offer he received from Amir Khan, who is now a promoter and wanted to see Whyte fight Okolie on his big Nigerian card set for December 19, was terrible.
The fight would have seen Whyte and Okolie settle their differences, but Ofo says he didn’t even inform Whyte about the offer as it was so poor.
“They sent an offer to me via e-mail,” Ofo said. “To be honest, I thought it was a joke or some sort of typo because the offer was so embarrassing. I didn’t even tell Dillian because it just made no sense. You want to have a fight with three weeks’ notice, with money so low that Dillian hasn’t made it in the past ten years or so?”
Ofo said Khan’s offer ranks as a “sub-level IQ” move, and that Okolie only mentions Whyte’s name in an effort at drumming up publicity. Okay, the offer Ofo received on behalf of his fighter may have been a low-ball one, but in all honesty, has Whyte got any other big-fight options at this stage of his career? Whyte was last seen being blasted out by Moses Itauma.
Some of us felt the offer to fight “The Sauce” was a lifeline for Whyte and his career. But it seems this fight will not be happening, at least not as soon as next month.