Legendary boxing trainer turned analyst, Teddy Atlas, has singled out one heavyweight that he believes could be next in line to rule the division.
Boxing’s blue ribbon division is once again front and centre of the sport after an exhilarating undisputed title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk last weekend in Saudi Arabia. Usyk walked away with a split division victory and, with that, became the first ever four-belt heavyweight champion.
Usyk and Fury are tied to a rematch clause which will see them battle it out once again later in the year. At 37 and 35 years old respectively, fans are questioning how long the two top dogs have left in the game and are looking to the younger generation for the next star.
Speaking on ProBox TV, Atlas – who worked with heavyweight legend Mike Tyson early in his career – thinks he may have found a ‘special’ fighter to fill the void – Agit Kabayel.
“I think there is new blood coming through.
I had a ring side seat [at Fury-Usyk] and I happened to see some guys that haven’t really been put out there yet and one of them was Agit Kabayel. He knocked out Frank Sanchez who is a Cuban fighter, big guy, 24 and 0 and people were touting him as the next guy in line.
This was a title eliminator and Kabayel systematically took him apart. He went to the body, he broke him down from the first round to the seventh round and then stopped him with body shots.
There is something about this guy Kabayal, something special.”
Kabayel is coming off two career best wins against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Sanchez, finally kick-starting a career that has been extremely slow to reach the world stage. The German was an underdog entering the ring on both occasions and managed to flip the script.
At 31 years-old he can no longer be considered a prospect but momentum is on his side and he’ll be eying a title shot in 2025 when the belts will likely become fractured again.
