Agit Kabayel has emerged as an elite operator in recent years, but despite struggling to secure fights against the division’s biggest names, he has ruled out a clash with a two-time world heavyweight champion.
A shock victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov kickstarted a run of triumphs on the big stage for Kabayel, with stoppage wins against Frank Sanchez, Zhilei Zhang and Damian Knyba extending his knockout streak to six consecutive bouts.
During that time, the undefeated German has also claimed and defended the WBC Interim title, positioning him for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s full WBC crown.
While he may hold that belt, there appears to be a lack of willing dance partners for Kabayel. Lawrence Okolie has talked up the fight in the past, but his recent failed drugs test could prevent that from happening anytime soon.
Yet, Kabayel himself has now named a man that he is not prepared to fight, telling Pro Boxing Fans that he will never take on Tyson Fury, who he sees as a ‘brother’.
“I am not interested in a fight with Fury, he is my brother. He has helped me so much in my career, when I fought with Makhmudov, he supported me and I have no interest [in that fight].”
Kabayel and Fury share both the same promoter and manager and have used each other as sparring partners during training camp, with ‘The Gypsy King’ sure to prove to be even more useful if Kabayel manages to secure his planned showdown with Usyk, whom Fury has faced twice.
