Agit Kabayel has been confirmed as the new WBC heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBC, WBA and IBF titles.
Usyk had been holding three of the four major heavyweight belts after previously giving up the WBO title last year. The Ukrainian’s latest defense came against former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, but with mandatory challengers waiting, he has now decided to vacate the remaining titles instead of continuing his reign.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced that Kabayel has been elevated from interim champion to full WBC heavyweight champion following a vote by the WBC board of governors.
“I just finished an incredibly sensitive Zoom video call with Agit Kabayel, George Warren, Spencer Brown and some WBC board members,” Sulaiman said. “We have confirmed that Agit is the WBC heavyweight champion of the world.”
Kabayel had earned his position with an impressive run of wins over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Zhilei Zhang and Frank Sanchez. Although he did not win the belt in the ring, his recent résumé made him the clear next man in line once Usyk stepped away.
The status of the WBA and IBF titles is still unclear. Murat Gassiev currently holds the WBA Regular belt and is scheduled to face Tony Yoka, while Sanchez recently won an IBF final eliminator against Richard Torrez Jr.
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