THE RESULT: With just a week left of 2023, Agit Kabayel produces arguably the performance of the year, dropping and stopping the fearsome Arslanbek Makhmudov inside four rounds. In a two-to-toe war, the European heavyweight champion beautifully switched from head to body to confuse, hurt and ultimately break Makhmudov with an official end time of 2:03 in round four.
KEY MOMENTS: This was developing into a heavyweight classic through three but in the third, Kabayel just started having more significant success, although Makhmudov was taking seriously hurtful shots well. But as they continued to rain down in the fourth, the big Russian started to slow and eventually took a knee to stop the punishment following a pair of right uppercuts from Kabayel. That only served to beckon the German in with even more vigour and, after another knockdown, referee Steve Gray decided enough was enough.
RECORDS: Undefeated Agit Kabayel moves to 24-0 (16) while bang goes Makhmudov’s 0. He is now 18-1 with 17 of those wins quick.
TALKING POINT: Makhmudov had been hailed as a potential opponent for the elite of the division, with fights against the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua mooted already. He was a heavy favourite here and this was seen as something of a showcase. But he was brutally felled here by Kabayel, who now catapults himself into another lucrative fight in Saudi.
QUOTABLE: Kabayel said: “I did my best and won the fight. We have been training for this – I shocked the world with this maybe? If you talked with 10 guys, nine of them would have said Agit will never win. My movement was the game plan, the body shots and then afterwards go to the head. It worked. I could see in his face that he was not here anymore. The fight is finished, now I’ll have a rest.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Kabayel has surely booked himself a fight on the undercard of the next big Saudi card, when Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh in February. He is still undefeated and in line for a major fight next. Meanwhile, even though he lost, there will not be many people queuing up to fight Makhmudov as he attempts to plot a path back to the top of the division.
