Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang promised to bang Agit Kabayel, but the latter turned the tables and finished an impressive performance with a sixth-round KO during the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard.
Kabayel had to get off the canvas in the fifth round after eating a hard counter shot from Zhang, but he had the last laugh, capturing the WBC interim title.
However, the punch from Zhang proved to be the 41-year-old’s last stand. His poor body language got even worse once Kabayel got up and kept bringing the pressure.
Zhang simply could not keep up the pace, and Kabayel’s quicker, busier hands were the biggest difference. In the sixth round, body shots did the necessary work to secure the victory. Here is a look at the finish:
This was the worst kind of loss for Zhang.
He didn’t just lose; he looked bad doing it. The big man looked his age and almost appeared to quit at some point. Not to undersell the body shots, but Zhang didn’t look like a man who wanted to push through adversity.
Instead, he looked like an aging veteran resigned to accept defeat against a younger, spryer, and hungrier contender.
While he had scored four straight wins by KO coming into the fight with Zhang, Kabayel hadn’t received a ton of respect. However, after becoming the first man to stop Zhang, the boxing world has no choice but to put some respect on the 32-year-old German’s name.
Zhang, if he chooses to fight on, will need to be matched carefully. His next fight will be a measurement to see how much he has left in the tank. The big man is on the wrong side of 40, and he now has 31 professional fights under his belt—or should we say on his legs.
Kabayel should slide up to No. 3 in the Ring heavyweight rankings. If Anthony Joshua doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight, that’s a matchup that could make sense later in the year. However, the two men are friendly and not on the same timeline.
IBF champion Daniel Dubois was supposed to face Joseph Parker on Saturday, but he had to pull out with an illness. It would make sense for Dubois to face the winner of Parker vs. Martin Bakole, as the latter stepped in to replace him.
A few more shoes need to drop, but Kabayel is aligned for a huge opportunity in his next fight. Through the first two fights of the night in Saudi Arabia, the action has lived up to the billing.
Here’s a look at the results for the event up to this point:
- Callum Smith def. Joshua Buatsi via unanimous decision
- Agit Kabayel def. Zhilei Zhang via sixth-round KO
- Vergil Ortiz Jr def. Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision
Still to Come
- Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2
- Joseph Parker vs. Martin Bakole
- Shakur Stevenson vs. Josh Padley
- Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
- Vergil Ortiz Jr vs. Israil Madrimov
