Born on September 23, 1992, in Leverkusen, Germany, Agit Kabayel is the first boxer of Turkish origin to become a WBC heavyweight champion.

Although German by birth, Kabayel’s parents are originally from Pazarcik, a city and district located in southern Turkey.

This isn’t the first time Agit has won a WBC belt. In 2014, three years after his professional debut, he became the WBC Mediterranean heavyweight champion after defeating Nigerian Gbenga “Bang Bang” Oluokun by split decision.

Then, in May 2024, Kabayel captured the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight belt by knocking out then-champion Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sánchez in a spectacular performance at the Kingdome Arena.

Then this February, Agit Kabayel fought Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight went six rounds as the German once again demonstrated his knockout power when he sent the Chinese fighter to the canvas, crowning himself WBC interim champion.

He currently holds an undefeated professional record, winning 18 of his 26 fights by knockout.

Agit Kayabel awaits his well-deserved shot at the Absolute WBC heavyweight title.

AGIT KABAYEL WANTS USYK

Agit Kabayel is eyeing a potential fight with The Ring and undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Would you like to see this fight happen?

Courtesy of wbcboxing.com

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The UBO Continental Africa Championship title has become very popular in Ghana and Nigeria as boxers from the two nations have in recent times contested for it.

Cabic Promotions organized a classic show on Friday, May 9, at the Idrowhyt Events Center at Dansoman in Accra where deaf boxer Emmanuel Mankattah Sackey made history by knocking out his Nigerian opponent. Yusuf Muhammed Olalekan in round five to claim his first belt, the UBO Super Featherweight title.

26-year-old Mankatah Sackey looked smart and determined on the night and was explosive from the first round till he floored Olalekan with a heavy punch.

Now with a 9-3-1 (7) record, Mankatah Sackey is ready to face the big boys, while Olalekan (29), now 9-3 (7) should go back to the gym and learn more.

Sulaimon Olagbade aka ‘Tyson Killer’ (15-13-2) who bragged at the weigh in could not stand the power, skill and speed of rising star, Dana Kofi aka ‘Achilles’so he had to give up in round four via a TKO in their UBO Continental Africa Super Welterweight Championship 12/3.

Dana, 21, now has 8 fights with 5 wins and 3 losses, he is looking forward to establish himself well on the local scene.

Olagbade once held the Nigerian national and West Africa Boxing Union titles, and came off five straight knockout victories recently.

Daniel Quaye of the Bronx Gym was too powerful for young Michael Akramah Tetteh as the boy from Chorkor aka D.K. Poison who is still learning went down in round one of their Welterweight Contest 8 /3.

The international bouts have proved that Ghana and Nigeria are always brothers in sports especially boxing.

In other local contests, Middleweight Michael Darko defeated Patrick Cudjoe, while Super Welterweight Emmanuel Quaye had the better part of Joseph Tagoe. Fredrick Lawson secured a R5 TKO over Justice Addy.

The double header with two UBO titles at stake on May 9 at Idrowhyt Events Centre by Cabic Promotions lived up to its billing as patrons, guests and boxing fans who watched were satisfied with the performances.

GBA President made sure all safety, security, protocol, medical and immigration processes must be adhered to.

Sammy Heywood Okine

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Manny Pacquiao will end his retirement at 46 to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title July 19 in Las Vegas, sources confirmed to The Ring.

The legendary boxer will return to the ring nearly four years after his supposed final fight when he dropped a decision to Yordenis Ugas.

Pacquiao is one of the sport’s all-time greatest fighters. He’s the only boxer to win titles in eight divisions, capturing them from 108 to 154 pounds.

But his last time in the ring was a December 2022 exhibition in South Korea where he looked far from the dynamo that took the ring by storm.

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) has retired several times before only to return to the ring. His last victory — and great performance — was a July 2019 decision over Keith Thurman.

Pacquiao will attempt to become the second oldest champion in history, surpassing even the late George Foreman who shocked the world when he KO’d Michael Moorer to win the heavyweight crown in 1994.

Pacquiao is the fourth-oldest fighter to win a title, doing so when he defeated Thurman. Bernard Hopkins holds the record at 49.

Barrios, who turns 30 later this month, will enjoy a 16-year age advantage. The Texan is The Ring’s No. 3 boxer at 147 pounds.

Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) is coming off a surprising draw with Abel Ramos in November, a fight where they traded knockdowns. Barrios’ losses came to Gervonta Davis and Thurman.

The fight has been in the works for nearly a year.

“I made history at 40 beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45, I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of punishment over the last few years,” Pacquiao told this reporter in June. “I want to go out making history.”

Barrios said at the time: “I’m very excited at the possibility of this fight being made. Manny Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer, a legend and someone I looked up to growing up. To share the ring with him would be an honor and a dream come true.”

The Sebastian Fundora-Tim Tszyu junior middleweight title rematch will serve as the PPV chief support bout, sources said. Fundora upset Tszyu in March 2024 in one of that year’s best action fights.

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz will return on the undercard, per sources, and one possibility is a rematch with Angel Fierro, whom he defeated in a February slugfest.

Courtesy www.ringmagazine.com

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People are switching sides from Canelo Alvarez to Terence Crawford in droves, picking Crawford to win their September 12th fight in Las Vegaso.

Unified super middleweight champion Canelo looked old, flat-footed, and slow in his win over IBF champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh. What was really telling was how Canelo, 34, threw only 152 punches in the entire fight. That’s not just because of Scull’s movement. Trainer Robert Garcia is the latest person to go from picking Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) to now leaning toward Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) winning. Robert saw what we all did with Alvarez, showing signs of deterioration from his long 20-year career.

Three Poor Outings

He’d already shown signs of slippage in his fights against John Ryder and Jaime Munguiao. But after his clash against the hulking 193-lb Edgar Berlanga last September, Canelo has visibly faded. For those who saw that fight, Canelo took some big shots from Berlanga down the stretch and looked worn out in the 12th. He was lucky that boxing no longer has 15-round fights because Berlanga might have stopped him.

“Now, I switch. I always thought Canelo was going to be too big and too strong, but now I’m going to pick Crawford to win this fight,” said trainer Robert Garcia on the YouTube channel of the Boxing Scene. “Crawford is very talented. Great footwork, great combinations, and a very strong fighter.” Canelo’s performance against William Scull last Saturday has gotten a lot of fans to switch their picks.

They’ve jumped off the sinking Alvarez chip and are picking Crawford to win on September 12th. It’s like rats abandoning a ship that is about to take its final plunge. It’s not that they’re fans of the Omaha, Nebraska native’s fighting style. Indeed, many people dislike the way Crawford fights, viewing him as not entertaining to watch, except for his one fight against Errol Spence.

Boxing fans just see Canelo as being over the hill now at 34, as he’s looked poor in three consecutive fights. It started with Jaime Munguia, then Edgar Berlanga, and now Scull. Looking Old “Facing them off, he’s actually the taller man. I’m leaning toward Crawford now. I switched my opinion. I think Canelo looked too slow, too flat-footed, one punch at a time,” said Robert about Canelo’s fight against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh.

Crawford obviously saw the deterioration in Canelo as well, which is one of the reasons he’s so eager to fight him. The money is clearly Terence’s main reason for fighting Canelo, but his looking shot is important as well. If Canelo were the same size as David Benavidez and fighting like him, Crawford wouldn’t be nearly as eager to fight him. He’d still do it for the money, but he’d have a vacant, doomed man look to him if he were facing Benavidez. “I don’t think that’s going to be enough for him to beat Crawford. Crawford is too fast, too strong, and too good,” said Garcia.

courtesy of www.boxing247.com

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Four world title fights and two undisputed championships will be part of what’s set to be a packed weekend of boxing action featuring 10 current or former world champions.

From Times Square to Saudi Arabia and back to Las Vegas, three scintillating cards all take place between May 2-4, with a handful of boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighters returning to the ring.

Here’s the boxing schedule this weekend.

Boxing this weekend

Ryan Garcia headlines Times Square boxing card on Friday

• Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs. Rolly Romero (16-2)
• Devin Haney (31-0) vs. Jose Ramirez (29-2)
• Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs. Arnold Barboza (32-0); WBO junior welterweight title
• Reito Tsutsumi (debut) vs. Levale Whittington (1-2-1)

Why it matters: Three of boxing’s biggest stars feature in consecutive fights on the first-ever card to take place in Times Square in New York City. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney each take on former world champions, with a win by each setting up the highly anticipated rematch between the two later this year. The lineal 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez also defends his WBO title against undefeated contender Arnold Barboza in his toughest title defense at junior middleweight.

Canelo Alvarez headlines Saudi Arabia fight card on Saturday

• Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2) vs. William Scull (23-0); WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF super middleweight titles
• Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs. Bruno Surace (26-0-2)
• Martin Bakole (21-2) vs. Efe Ajagba (20-1)
• Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs. Noel Mikaelian (27-2); WBC cruiserweight title
• Marco Verde (debut) vs. Michel Polina (4-5-3)
• Brayan Leon (6-0) vs. Aaron Guerrero (11-3-1)

Start time: 6 p.m. CT

Why it matters: By all accounts Scull is one of the weakest opponents Alvarez has faced in recent years, but there’s a method to the madness behind this bout. With a win, which the oddsmakers give Alvarez a -4000 chance to secure, he will once again reign as undisputed super middleweight champion after being forced to vacate his IBF title last summer. Which means his blockbuster bout against Terence Crawford, expected for later this year, will be for the undisputed 168-pound titles.

Naoya Inoue headlines Las Vegas fight card on Sunday

• Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs. Ramon Cardenas (26-1); WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF junior featherweight titles
• Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs. Edward Vasquez (17-2); WBO featherweight title

ESPN+ undercard

• Rohan Polanco (15-0) vs. Fabian Maidana (24-3)
• Emiliano Vargas (13-0) vs. Juan Leon (11-2-1)
• Mikito Nakano (12-0) vs. Pedro Marquez (16-1)
• Art Barerra Jr. (8-0) vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. (6-1-1)
• Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs. Rudy Garcia (13-1-1)
• Patrick O’Connor (debut) vs. Marcus Smith (2-1)

How to watch: ESPN/ESPN+

Start time: 9 p.m. CT on ESPN

Why it matters: Arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Naoya Inoue, fights on U.S. soil for the first time since 2021, defending the undisputed junior featherweight title against San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas. Japan’s Inoue has won world titles in four weight classes and is one of three boxers in the four-belt era to become undisputed champion in multiple weight classes, joining Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk. Typically fighting in the early hours of the morning U.S. time, Inoue will be live on ESPN on Sunday night from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

courtesy www.tennessean.com

The post BOXING FIGHTS THIS WEEKEND INCLUDE STAR-STUDDED LINEUP WITH CANELO ALVAREZ, RYAN GARCIA AND OTHERS appeared first on boxersworld.

Morris “Hercules” Okolla (13-4-0, 10 KOs) is convinced his Czech Republic opponent, Lukas Fajk (10-1-0), will not last the full course in tonight’s fight in Prague.

“I will knock him out in the third round, I looked at him during the face-off he’s so scared of me,” Okolla told boxersworld.co.ke from their five-star hotel ahead of his heavyweight duel against the Czech Republic boxer.

Okolla last fought in September last year outpointing Louis Cedric of Mauritius in a six rounder.

“We’ve been welcomed well, the atmosphere is fantastic,” said the southpaw Okolla, a former international boxer who won gold in the 2005 Zone Five Championships in Nairobi.

Okolla, who is the younger to former international and now Prisons coach Dan Shisia, made his professional debut on November 11, 2011, defeating James Nyariki.

The other Kenyan in action tonight, Jane Kavulani (19-18-5, 7 KOs), battles home girl Fabiana Bytyqib (21-1-2, 5 KOs) in a six rounds bantamweight fight.

Kavulani last fought in Germany in June last year losing to Elina Tissen via an eigth round TKO.

The Kenyan turned pro in June, 2002, and in her debut lost to Tanzania’s Monica Mwakasanga who decisioned her in a six rounds bout that was supposed to be four rounds since Kavulani was making her pro debut.

The two Kenyan boxers are accompanied by the Secretary-General of the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission (KPBC) Franklin Imbenzi.

The post MORRIS OKOLLA, JANE KAVULANI FIGHT TODAY IN PRAGUE appeared first on boxersworld.

Major plans are underway for the revival of schools boxing in Kenya this year.

The president of the Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) Anthony “Jamal” Ombok said this is one of their strategic plans all geared towards implementing a seamless junior and youth boxing program.

“When building a good house you must have a strong foundation, that’s why we’re serious on schools boxing,” said Jamal who was re-elected unopposed for the second term on March 1.

“We’re in talks with the relevant authorities to identify the schools which will be involved, junior and youth boxing are the cornerstone of success provided there’s enough funding,” said the BFK supremo.

Schools boxing was part of the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya (ABA) annual events in the 70s but later faded owing to a change in the syllabus which made it difficult for the pupils to train properly because of the packed schedule.

Some of the prominent boxing schools were St.Mary’s, Starehe Boys, Kabete Technical and Menengai Boys in Nakuru.

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IOC SHOULD STOP COLONISING INDEPENDENT NATIONAL BOXING FEDERATIONS

Hi Kirsty

Congratulations on your resounding victory in the IOC elections. I hope my open letter finds you  in good health as you plan on relocating to Lausanne, Switzerland.

I will dwell on the confusion the IOC has caused by demanding that National Federations affiliated to the International Boxing Association (IBA) must move to World Boxing (WB) to enable them to participate in the Olympic Games.

I advice you to change this directive immediately because it doesn’t make sense at all. As much as we know the IOC has an axe to grind with IBA concerning governance issues and questionable officiating among others.

IOC prides itself on a very fundamental issue of Fairplay in your governance but you have now dug your heads in the sand to deny NFs their freedom of association. Is that Fairplay?

IOC should let NFs decide which international body they want to be associated with instead of dangling the Olympic Games carrot to force them join WB.

Take note IBA has been in existence since 1946. It’s the mother and father of world boxing but just because some selfish IOC members were against its Russian leadership in the wake of the Ukraine war, you chose to suffocate its existence until you kicked IBA out of the IOC family.

Yet as you know the IOC itself has its own skeletons in the cupboard but you chose to remove the speck in the eye of IBA forgetting of your own inadequacies.

Kirsty, I believe you have come to IOC leadership independently but not as a stooge of the outgoing President Thomas Bach. Therefore the boxing fraternity expects you to operate professionally putting aside the tiff between IOC and IBA.

Don’t punish innocent boxers because of your personal differences with IBA. Let all boxers take part in the Olympic qualifiers irrespective of their affiliation.

In any case IOC is now allowing professional boxers to participate in the Olympics, and they will do so without being affiliated to World Boxing. So, why force others to join WB?

We know the wicked motive of IOC is to finish IBA which to me is retrogressive and selfish given that WB alone cannot satisfy the needs of thousands of boxers worldwide.

Right now, some NFs are in a tight corner on what path they should take regarding your undemocratic position of forcing them to join WB in order to participate in the Olympic boxing tournament.

For your information, Olympics has lost its lustre of yesteryears and is no longer competitive as it used to be because the IOC has watered down the competition by reducing weight divisions, thus denying some boxers their right to take part in the Games.

Against this background, and for the interest of the African boxers, I’m humbly requesting you and WB to ensure all the weight classes are reinstated and let boxers participate in the Olympics freely without forcing their NFs move to WB.

I hope to get your response soon because I know this letter will reach you. The world is now a small village.

Stand firm as the new sheriff in town, and if need be take the bull by horns. Most important is for the IOC to stop COLONISING independent NFs to shift to WB just because of the Olympics. IOC should foster unity and friendship in sports. Put aside your hatred on IBA and join forces to develop boxing worldwide. Right now there is no sports body which is perfect. You all have your skeletons.

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International Olympic Committees’ official recognition of World Boxing has further scuttled the feuding factions in the Africa Boxing Confederation (AFBC).

Now, the existence of AFBC – formed in 1960 – is threatened by the formation of a new African boxing body to be affiliated to World Boxing.

Plans are already in the pipeline for the formation of WB- affiliated boxing organisation in Africa to rival the existing one which is currently going through a leadership crisis in the wake of a big rift with two presidents claiming legitimacy. One faction is led by the IBA- recognised President Eyassu Berhanu and the other one is under the leadership of the combative Congolese Boxing Federation President Ferdinand Ilunga Luyoyo whose group met in Kinshasa last year and passed a vote of no confidence in Berhanu’s leadership during the AFBC African Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships.

With WB now officially recognised by the IOC, it’s obvious more NFs in Africa will abandon IBA and join WB irrespective of whether their boxers will qualify for the 2028 LA Games. The bottom line now for the NFs is to know which side of their bread is buttered especially in view of the respect the IOC commands among their respective African governments.

Therefore as it is now, each national federation will have to make their own individual decision to join WB ignoring the ongoing circus in the deeply divided AFBC which currently has no clout to give them direction. Perhaps a new body will be a breath of fresh air for Africa boxing to move away from decades of bad leadership that has been synonymous with AFBC.

It is understood the Luyoyo faction is leaning towards WB in protest at what they feel is failure by IBA to take firm action on Berhanu’s leadership which they accuse of incompetence, shady deals and arrogance. In reality both factions have rotten eggs since they’re all birds of the same feather. Their acrimony came to a head during the AFBC African Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in Kinshasa last year when Berhanu was denied the opportunity to address the crowd during the opening ceremony of the tournament.

Luyoyo was then the man of the moment taking centre stage with the country’s minister in charge of sports ignoring the presence of Berhanu whom the Luyoyo group alleged had attempted to sabotage the tournament by writing to participants not to attend the Kinshasa boxing event largely ignored by IBA. Strangely, there was no prize money like the previous ones in Yaounde and Maputo.

The Luyoyo faction, which claims to have more NFs supporting them, has now given the IBA tough conditions to remove Berhanu at the helm failure to which they will join WB.

Removing Berhanu now is inconsequential and has been overtaken by events following the latest development. Each NFs is now carrying their own cross. They will have to make their own personal decision to join WB.

The AFBC circus has of course not gone down well with some of the member federations who view the African body as a rudderless vessel heading nowhere other than being used for personal aggrandisement.

“We’re preparing to join World Boxing, we can’t be in a body which does not attend to our problems, we don’t even know whom to deal with,” one of the presidents of the African NFs told me this morning.

He also laments on AFBC’s lean calendar of events and would prefer a new body which is likely to inject more activity in African boxing.

So far, seven African countries have officially moved to WB. They are Algeria, Egypt, Gambia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Malawi and Sudan. Ghana and Mauritius are among AFBC member countries planning to shift to WB.

A number of NFs officials who spoke to boxersworld.co.ke said they’ll prefer a new body to bring the much desired change in African boxing and professionalism in the management of the game after decades of stagnation and petty leadership tussles.

Right now they feel in addition to the thin calendar of events, AFBC has nothing much to offer to their national federations while some feel the IBA is spending more on boxers’ prize money at the expense of financially empowering the African federations which nurture the boxers’ talents.

Others however argue the immense financial contribution of IBA’s President Umar Kremlev has been a game changer in world boxing compared to his predecessors. A number of boxers have hailed IBA’s prize money tournaments that have changed their lives.

There’s apprehension however on the future of IBA once Kremlev departs given that for now he appears to be the sole financier. Unlike World Athletics and FIFA whose sponsors are known, in IBA it’s only Kremlev known as the official sponsor. Whether the funding is personal or from friends has not been made public.

However, it appears Kremlev is not going out in the foreseeable future with the IBA now morphing into a professional body. The entry of WB is likely to speed up the process to become a fully-fledged pro boxing organisation and probably change their constitution and structure of management, giving Kremlev more leeway to remain at the top.

As for the the entry of a new African body, it’s being viewed with great expectations in that it will be affiliated to an equally new international body expected to bring on board sponsors who will empower the WB-affiliated African organisation to introduce more competitions and change the tattered image of African boxing.

For now, the African boxing scene is keenly watching to see how many more NFs shift to WB to increase the required number to 16 to enable them form a new African boxing body. Interesting times indeed in world boxing.

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