AGIT KABAYEL’S manager, Spencer Brown, has named Tony Yoka and Nelson Hysa as possible opponents for his client’s next outing.
The WBC ‘interim’ heavyweight champion will return to action on January 10, headlining a Queensberry Promotions card at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.
And while a dance partner is yet to be announced, Goldstar Promotions founder Brown has revealed that both Yoka, 14-3 (11 KOs), and Hysa, 24-0 (22 KOs), are ‘in the hat.’
Kabayel, 26-0 (18 KOs), meanwhile, has not fought since his emphatic sixth-round stoppage victory over Zhilei Zhang this past February.
Back then, the 33-year-old expertly broke his man down with a vicious body onslaught, while also cementing his status as the WBC’s leading contender in the land of the giants.
Prior to that, Kabayel produced two similarly dominant performances, against Frank Sanchez and Arslanbek Makhmudov, with all three wins seeing him emerge as a consensus top-five heavyweight.
As for his next assignment, it would seem that Olympic gold medallist Yoka is the most accomplished candidate to take on the formidable German.
Despite suffering back-to-back defeats against Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy – the last of which arriving in 2023 – Yoka has since bounced back with three victories, albeit against limited opposition, in an effort to revitalise his career.
With the Frenchman extending his work under the tutelage of head coach Don Charles, too, perhaps he is now approaching a more encouraging stage in his professional career.
As for Hysa, a lack of notable victories would suggest that the 41-year-old’s punching power, which appears to be his most valuable attribute, is only effective at a certain level.
In any case, though, Brown has insisted that Kabayel’s next opponent will be finalised soon enough.
“You’ll hear [an announcement] in the next two or three days,” he told Boxing News. “We’re just trying to finish the deals and get the contracts done.
“There’s a few names in the hat. [Kabayel’s] been out the ring a long time, so we’re not going to put him in with a killing machine.
“Hysa’s name is in the hat, Tony Yoka’s in the hat, and there’s a couple of other names as well.”
