Agit Kabayel Reacts After Elevation to Full WBC Heavyweight Champion

The WBC did not waste any time replacing Oleksandr Usyk as its heavyweight champion.

One day after Usyk surprisingly announced his decision to vacate his heavyweight titles, the organization has already named his successor. The WBC is promoting Agit Kabayel from interim champion to full champion status effective immediately, Queensberry Promotions announced on Saturday.

"Congratulations to Agit Kabayel on being upgraded to full WBC World Heavyweight Champion!" Queensberry Promotions' opening statement read. "A historic day for boxing in Germany as he becomes the first German World Heavyweight Champion since Max Schmeling back in 1932."

Congratulations to Agit Kabayel on being upgraded to full WBC World Heavyweight Champion!

A historic day for boxing in Germany as he becomes the first German World Heavyweight Champion since Max Schmeling back in 1932 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/zAjhNcHHcK
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) June 27, 2026

Kabayel had been the interim champion since February 2025, when he stopped Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round in Saudi Arabia. He defended the interim belt once with a third-round TKO of Damian Knyba in January.

Kabayel has been Usyk's mandatory challenger since the win over Zhang, but he took the fight with Knyba while 'The Cat' took a detour with Rico Verhoeven. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh brought Kabayel to Egypt to face off with Usyk after his controversial win over Verhoeven, promising fans that the matchup would come next.

Instead, Usyk abruptly vacated the WBC, WBA and IBF titles on Friday to pursue what he called the "last dance" of his career free of the governing bodies' restrictions. Kabayel is the first fighter to be named the immediate successor of one of Usyk's former belts.

WBA regular heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev defends his title against Tony Yoka on July 11, while fans can expect Frank Sanchez, fresh off a massive upset win over Richard Torrez Jr., to compete for the vacant IBF belt.

Agit Kabayel reacts to WBC heavyweight title elevation

Although Kabayel did not win the full heavyweight title in the ring, Kabayel expressed how much the moment meant to him on social media. The 33-year-old is the first Kurdish heavyweight world champion in boxing history.

"Unbelievable," Kabayel wrote on Instagram. "As of today, I am the WBC Heavyweight World Champion. The first Kurdish heavyweight world champion in history and the first German heavyweight world champion in almost 100 years.

"Words can't describe what I am feeling right now. Thank you to every single one of you for your support throughout this journey. This achievement belongs to all of us. I will do everything I can to hold this belt for a long time and add even more titles to my collection."

As great as Usyk's career has been, the 39-year-old's activity has drastically declined late in his career, stalling out the otherwise red-hot heavyweight division. Conversely, Kabayel has expressed his desire to be an active champion and give his peers more opportunities to fight for his title.

Add us as a preferred source on Google