WBC order Oleksandr Usyk to defend to Agit Kabayel
The WBC have ordered Oleksandr Usyk to defend his world championships to their Interim titleholder Agit Kabayel next.
Reigning WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO heavyweight champion, Usyk, has been allowed a voluntary defence first, which hasn't been announced yet. However, reports of the two-weight undisputed champion fighting kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 9th are gathering speed.
Promoter Frank Warren today announced that Kabayel will be back in the ring in Germany in May, so the stars are seemingly aligning.
The 33-year-old heavyweight from Leverkusen was last in action in January, defending his WBC Interim strap within three rounds against Poland’s Damian Knyba in his Germany homecoming, having spent his previous three bouts in Saudi Arabia.
The unbeaten German has been in possession of the Interim belt since stopping Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round a year ago in February 2025.
Two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Usyk hasn’t fought since last July when he stopped Daniel Dubois in five, and has been nursing a back injury since. He was looking for a voluntary defence against Deontay Wilder but the American chose a London showdown with Derek Chisora instead, marking both their 50th fights.
With Usyk expected to fight 36-year-old GLORY heavyweight champion Verhoeven in May and Kabayel also returning in May, it's possible the German could get his shot at the Ukrainian in the last quarter of the year.
