Achtung, fight fans! While most Americans are focused on football, there is a significant heavyweight fight featuring the best heavyweight you probably don’t know about, Agit Kabayel of Germany.
WBC interim titleholder Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) will take on another unbeaten heavyweight, Damian Knyba of Poland (17-0, 11 KOs). The fight takes place at home for Kabayel at Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen, German. The Queensberry Promotions card airs live on DAZN starting at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT with prelims, and the main card at 12:45 p.m. ET/9:45 a.m. PT. Who doesn’t love boxing for breakfast?
Kabayel will take on Damian Knyba of Poland, with title implications, and a knockout is all but guaranteed. Well worth setting aside your time for, yes?
There’s also a second card in New York, but for the first time in years, we can’t recommend it. More on Matias vs Smith later.
Hometown Fight for Agit Kabayel
It will be Kabayel’s first fight in front of a home crowd since 2023. Back then, Kabayel said he was lucky to fight in front of 5,000 people. Now he’ll be greeted by a sellout crowd. “Now I’m on the map,” said Kabayel.
Kabayel’s last three fights have taken place on cards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He’s developing a reputation as a giant killer. One by one, he’s taken down with impressive knockout victories. First, it was Arslenbek Mahkmudov of Russia, knocked out in the fourth round for the Russian’s first loss.
Next, it was tricky technician Frank Sanchez of Cuba, also dispatched by seventh round knockout for his first loss.
Finally, Kabayel chopped down a big tree in Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang of China. Outweighed by 45 pounds, Kabayel got off the deck after a knockdown to stop Zhang. Even if you consider Zhang well past his prime, the Chinese super heavyweight is always dangerous.
Agit Kabayel is one of those under-the-radar fighters every boxing insider loves and feels smart about being his fan.
“I always believed in myself. I’m a hard worker. Every training you come level up, level up, level up. Every fight you must be better than before. Everything is discipline. I have discipline,” said Kabayel about his success.
“I train for my dream and this is Agit Kabayel, I think.”
Kabayel Experience Dwarfs Knyba
Knyba scored three wins in 2025. While the Top Rank co-promoted Pole also stopped his last three opponents, they didn’t have the quality resumes of Kabayel’s foes: Andrzej Wawrzyk, Marcin Siwy, and October’s seventh-round TKO of Joey Dawejko in Brooklyn.
Still, no matter the resume or record, the modern super heavyweights with punching power can pull out a win after losing every previous round. Ask Fabio Wardley.
The fight comes down to Kabayel leveraging his boxing skills to set up his power and take down the less mobile, less experienced Knyba, versus Knyba accomplishing what Mahkmudov, Sanchez, and Zhange could not: land that career-changing punch.
The winner takes home the interim WBC heavyweight belt. It matters because this person should become the mandatory challenger for unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. If Usyk chooses not to defend the title, the interim champion may be elevated to full champion, and defend the title in the true championship contest next year.
The next four ranked challengers in the WBC are Lawrence Okolie, Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua, and Moses Itauma. Joshua is likely out of the picture. We don’t hate any of the remaining three matchups, although we’d love to see Kabayel vs Itauma, and Kabayel has said in interviews he’s up for it.
Tale of the Tape: Agit Kabayel vs Damian Knyba
Kabayel weighed in Friday at 240.3 pounds. Knyba weighed in at 257.9 pounds. At 6-foot-7, Knyba has a four-inch height advantage and a six-inch reach advantage over the 6-foot-3 Kabayel. This is similar to Zhang, whom Kayabel handled well, also showing a decent chin.
Knyba must work behind the jab and follow with power shots to patiently wear Kabayal down, giving him an opportunity when available to close the distance and take serious aim.
Kabayel must avoid incoming fire and get inside on the bigger man. Kabayel is a solid body puncher and it will be his ticket to defanging Knyba. Kabayel’s ability to rip the body with sheer menace isn’t something any heavyweight opponent wants to face.
While Kabayel gets the advantage of fighting at home, it can also bring plenty of pressure from family, friends, and followers. But he brings the confidence of weathering the storm from Zhang and winning in a definitive fashion. Kabayel will get a good test from Knyba, but facing a bigger man who isn’t too mobile or fast is tailor-made for his skills.
Enjoy seeing a rising star in Agit Kabayel, and a likely knockout win in the early second half of the fight – we’ll call it in round eight.
Subriel Matias vs Dalton Smith: Worth the PPV?
In the only major fight on U.S. soil Saturday, Subriel Matias of Puerto Rico (23-2, 22 KOs) defends is WBC Super Lightweight title against Dalton Smith of England (18-0, 13 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Matchroom Sport-promoted card airs as a PPV on PPV.com
This is a perfectly fine matchup between two action-oriented fighters. But it’s flown completely under the radar for several reasons.
First, the price tag for the fight is $54.95. With most fans still paying off their holiday shopping bills, the first half of January isn’t the time for a pay-per-view without being well worth the money. Yes, the main event is a decent championship bout. But neither Matias or Smith are among the stars of boxing.
There is not much on the undercard to help add value. As of today, the co-main event for the super-lightweight title between Hendri Cedeño of the DR fighting out of Reading, Pennsylvania (16-0, 12 KOs) and Alfredo Santiago, a DR native fighting out of Puerto Rico (17-2, 8 KOs) was cancelled. Cedeño failed the New York State Athletic Commission’s medical exam. No reason was made public.
Cedeño was ranked tenth by the WBO. Santiago has won five of his last six fights since a loss to Devin Haney in 2019.
Without this fight on the card, there’s little on the undercard to recommend. This is not meant as any slight to the competitors. But for the first time I’ve made this recommendation on NU Fights: this card is not worth $54.95. Find a watch party on YouTube and view the few minutes of highlights later.
However, if you’re in the region and can make to Brooklyn, you might consider it. As of publication time, tickets in the lower half of the Barclays Center are available for $72. Watching a fight card in person, even one that’s less than thrilling, is always worth it. Whether the Puerto Rican fans will be willing to cross the bridge to see Matias is a big question mark, and a big miss.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.