Usyk's vacating of the belts opened a new era in the heavyweight division: Agit Kabayel immediately wants the biggest names
The heavyweight division of professional boxing entered one of the most significant reshufflings of recent years after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his WBC, WBA and IBF belts, and Agit Kabayel became the new WBC world champion. According to the announcement by the World Boxing Council, Kabayel was officially recognized as the WBC heavyweight champion effective June 27, 2026, after previously holding that organization's interim belt. This changed the German heavyweight's status without a new fight in the ring, but not without a long competitive path: in recent seasons, Kabayel has strung together victories that brought him to the position of mandatory challenger and to first place in line for Usyk's WBC title.
Usyk's decision, announced on June 26, 2026, did not mark the official end of his career, but rather a change of direction in its final phase. Reuters reported that the Ukrainian boxer said he wanted to leave the belts vacant so that the boxers waiting behind him could fight for them. In the same message, he emphasized that he was not leaving the sport, but that one final fight awaited him, which he described as his last dance. Such a decision simultaneously frees Usyk from mandatory defenses and opens space for a new group of heavyweights who will try to confirm their own hierarchy in the coming months.
Immediately after confirmation of his new status, Kabayel sent a message showing that he does not want to hold the WBC belt passively. Sky Sports reported that the new champion wants his first defense in September or October 2026 and that he is ready to discuss fights with the biggest names in the heavyweight division, including Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Moses Itauma, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley. Speaking to Sky Sports, Kabayel said that this is his era and that he is ready to fight the best. That statement is not just the usual champion's message, but also an attempt for the new WBC champion to immediately position himself as the active center of the division.
The WBC reacted the fastest and promoted the interim champion
According to the WBC's official announcement, Kabayel's recognition as world champion comes after almost a decade of steady rise in that organization's rankings. The WBC states that Kabayel first entered its world rankings in May 2017, and then built his career through European and regional titles before reaching the interim world belt. Particularly important was his victory over Frank Sánchez in May 2024, which further strengthened his status as a serious candidate at the top of the heavyweight division. After that, in February 2025, he knocked out Zhilei Zhang and won the interim WBC title, which became crucial for his later elevation to full champion.
In January 2026, Kabayel defended the interim WBC title against Damian Knyba in Oberhausen, further strengthening his argument that he was not merely waiting for an administrative decision, but confirming his right to a chance through the ring. Data from BoxRec and specialized boxing sources state that Kabayel currently has a professional record of 27 wins without a defeat, with 19 knockouts. From the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2026, he recorded victories over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sánchez, Zhilei Zhang and Damian Knyba, a run that took him from the status of a dangerous challenger to a world belt. The fact that he did not win the title directly against Usyk will remain part of the debate, but the sporting basis for his promotion was clear under the WBC's rules.
The change is historically important for German boxing as well. The Associated Press stated that Kabayel is the first German heavyweight champion with this kind of world status since the time of Max Schmeling in 1932. Such a comparison carries great symbolic weight, but Kabayel's challenge is only now beginning, because recognition of the belt does not automatically bring the kind of global authority Usyk had after victories over the strongest opponents of his generation. For the new champion, it will be crucial whom he chooses for his first defense, where the fight will take place and whether he succeeds in turning the administrative transfer of the belt into a reign confirmed in sporting terms.
Usyk is leaving mandatory defenses, but not boxing
Usyk's move resonated strongly because it comes after an exceptionally successful period in which the Ukrainian boxer left his mark on two divisions. Reuters recalls that Usyk won Olympic gold in 2012, became the undisputed cruiserweight champion in 2018, and then, in the heavyweight division, defeated Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury. According to Reuters' report, it was precisely his victory over Fury that brought him the status of the first undisputed male heavyweight champion in the era of the four major belts. He later vacated the WBO belt, and now the remaining three major titles he held as well.
It is important to emphasize that Usyk's vacating of the belts is not the same as immediate retirement. CBS Sports conveyed his message that he is leaving the belts open to the boxers coming behind him, but that the story is not over. Reuters, citing a statement by his sports director Sergey Lapin to ESPN, stated that Usyk wants his final fights in the United States, where he would conclude the last chapter of his career. The opponent, date and format of that final phase have not yet been officially confirmed, so any projection remains subject to change until a concrete contract is announced.
Usyk's decision also shows how closely belts in modern boxing are connected with mandatory challengers, deadlines, fees, television markets and promotional calculations. For a champion approaching the end of his career, a mandatory defense against a high-risk fighter, but perhaps one with a smaller commercial reach than the biggest stars, is often not the most attractive choice. Kabayel is exactly such an example: he is undefeated, tactically disciplined, physically strong and on a winning streak, but globally he still does not have the recognition of Fury, Joshua or other established names. Usyk's departure from the belt structure therefore opens space for boxers who have long awaited an institutional opportunity, but at the same time shows how dependent the top of the heavyweight division is on the economics of major fights.
Kabayel is seeking a big name for his first defense
The new WBC champion will not have much time to celebrate if he wants to confirm that the beginning of his reign is more than a consequence of Usyk's decision. Sky Sports reported that Kabayel is targeting a return to the ring in September or October 2026, which means that negotiations over his first defense could very quickly become the central topic of the heavyweight division. In the same conversation, he said that he is ready for Fury and Joshua, but acknowledged that the public especially wants to see their fight against each other. If that match were really to happen, Kabayel could wait for the winner or turn to another challenger from the top of the rankings.
Moses Itauma stands out as one of the most intriguing names of the new generation. The Associated Press states that in March 2026 Itauma, with a powerful knockout against Jermaine Franklin, further strengthened his reputation as one of the greatest young talents in the heavyweight division. Sky Sports reported that Kabayel would be open to a fight with the winner of the Itauma - Filip Hrgović match, which has been announced for August 29 in London. Such a scenario would be especially interesting because it would connect the current WBC champion with the winner of a fight that can decisively change the picture at the top of the division.
Daniel Dubois, the current WBO champion according to reports by CBS Sports and AP, also remains an important part of the wider equation. If negotiations were to open between Kabayel and Dubois, the heavyweight division could very quickly get a new belt-unification fight, although for now there is no official confirmation that such a direction is being prepared. Fabio Wardley is another name mentioned in the context of major British fights, while Fury and Joshua remain in a phase of their careers in which every move they make affects the market. Kabayel's announcement that he is ready for everyone is therefore politically and promotionally important: the new champion wants to force the competition to treat him as a mandatory stop, not as an interim guardian of the belt.
The other belts create additional uncertainty
Usyk's vacating of the WBC, WBA and IBF titles is not only Kabayel's story. The Associated Press reported that after Usyk's decision, the IBF ordered negotiations for a fight between Frank Sánchez and Moses Itauma for the vacant belt, with a deadline of July 29, 2026, to reach an agreement. That decision shows that individual organizations move at different rhythms and according to their own rules. The WBC had a clear interim champion and therefore could quickly promote Kabayel, while the IBF does not have an equally simple line of succession and must determine through the rankings who will fight for the title.
The situation around the WBA belt is additionally complex because that organization traditionally distinguishes between different champion statuses in the heavyweight division. On the public list of WBA champions, available after Usyk's announcement, Usyk was still shown as the Super World champion, while Murat Gassiev was listed as the WBA World champion. Some specialized media reported that Gassiev could be, or already has been, promoted to full status after Usyk's withdrawal from mandatory defenses, but official announcements and public lists are sometimes updated at different speeds. For that reason, the most cautious conclusion is that the WBC has so far most clearly defined the new champion, while institutional and promotional alignment continues around the other belts.
For sports fans, this means that the heavyweight division suddenly no longer has a single center of gravity. Usyk had been the benchmark for years because he combined results, technical superiority and victories over the biggest names. After his exit from the belt regime, every champion will have to confirm his own status through defenses and head-to-head meetings. Kabayel has the cleanest new title because the WBC has already officially recognized him, Dubois holds the WBO belt, and the IBF and WBA directions depend on negotiations, rankings and official decisions that still need to complete the new picture at the top.
A new era without one undisputed ruler
Kabayel's move into focus changes the dynamics of the heavyweight division because it brings to the forefront a fighter who reached the world elite less through media noise and more through a series of concrete victories. His style is based on pressure, body work, solid physical preparation and the ability to break an opponent with pace, as the fights against Sánchez and Zhang showed. Such a profile can be very uncomfortable for bigger stars who are used to dictating the tempo of matches and negotiations. Still, only the first defense will show whether Kabayel is ready to be the champion around whom a new hierarchy is built, and not just a boxer who took over the belt at the moment of Usyk's departure.
For Fury, Joshua, Dubois, Itauma, Hrgović, Wardley and Sánchez, the new situation opens opportunities, but also risks. More belts mean more possible paths to a world title, but at the same time increase the possibility of fragmentation in which the best fight less often than the public expects. Promoters will try to align sporting obligations, market interests and television contracts, while organizations will pressure champions through mandatory defenses. In such an environment, Kabayel must quickly turn his readiness for big names into a concrete contract, because authority in the heavyweight division is not maintained by statements but by fights the public considers inevitable.
Usyk's withdrawal from the belt rankings is therefore less an ending and more the beginning of a new period in which the heavyweight division must rearrange itself once again. The WBC has already opened the first page of that change by recognizing Agit Kabayel as world champion, while the other organizations and top challengers are seeking their own paths toward titles. If Kabayel gets an opponent from the very top in his first defense, his reign will immediately gain the necessary sporting weight. If negotiations drag on, the new era could begin exactly the way modern boxing often looks: with big names, numerous belts and a wait for the fight that will truly show who is the best.
Sources:
- World Boxing Council – official announcement on the recognition of Agit Kabayel as the new WBC heavyweight world champion (link)
- Reuters / The Straits Times – report on Usyk's vacating of the WBC, WBA and IBF belts and the context of the final phase of his career (link)
- Sky Sports – interview with Agit Kabayel about possible defenses against Fury, Joshua, Itauma, Dubois and Wardley (link)
- Associated Press / The Washington Post – analysis of the redistribution of heavyweight belts after Usyk's decision (link)
- World Boxing Association – public list of current WBA champions used to verify the status of heavyweight belts (link)
- BoxRec – Agit Kabayel profile and data on his professional record and recent fights (link)