Kabayel has potential to reign supreme, says Joshua

“I think Agit is ready because he is calling for the Oleksandr Usyk fight,” Joshua told The Ring’s CEO, Rick Reeno, on the newest episode of the “Mr. Verzace Podcast,” which debuted this week. “Agit has been around for a long time and he’s ready now. I can’t wait to see. I think he’ll be able to deal with that bullseye on his back. He’s got potential to reign supreme as a heavyweight. We haven’t seen any vulnerability.” Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) is ranked No. 2 among The Ring’s contenders , behind only WBO champ Daniel Dubois . Germany’s Kabayel is in line to cash his ticket as the WBC interim champion for a crack at Usyk , who holds The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC titles. The 33-year-old has earned his shot by impressively stopping Arslanbek Makhmudov , Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang in a three-fight stretch from December 2023 to February 2025. He then fought Damian Knyba on January 10, when he knocked him out in the third round during a raucous homecoming in Germany . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIvDczW4JE4&t=5s Kabayel’s resume also includes a 2017 majority-decision win against Derek Chisora . “Even though he’s been around for a long time, the difference is when you become champion, that bullseye is on your back – and it’s a lot,” Joshua said. “You can see it now with Usyk. The bullseye is on his back because people are waiting for a little sign of vulnerability. Agit has potential because he hasn’t shown it yet. We want to see him become champion to see him live up to the expectations that we have of him.” The 36-year-old added that he is looking forward to testing himself against the German later down the line. As for his next test, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion (29-4, 26 KOs) is scheduled to face Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) in a main event DAZN will stream July 25 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram : @ManoukAkopyan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ykHYRoXpQg&t=12s