“Agit quickly dealt with the Polish applicant. However, the referee was in a bit of a hurry”, — write: sport.ua
On the other hand, the stoppage drew a lot of criticism from fans of rival Caballero. And you can understand why.
Agit Kabael was considered a huge favorite. He confirmed his status completely The match against Damian Knyba immediately raised questions. After a series with Makhmudov, Sanchez and Zhilei, it is strange to switch to a little-known opponent.
This decision was influenced by other actions of the German. For example, inactivity in the ring. He hasn’t gone out to fight since the winter of 2025, when he beat Zhang Zhilei pretty quickly, even though he was knocked down. And also conversations surrounding his meeting against Oleksandr Usyk. While the Ukrainian knocked out Daniel Dubois and became a 3-time absolute champion, Kabayel decided to meet with a little-known Pole.
Few noted Knyba’s skills, although his ability to box from the jab is really decent. Few hoped for competition, because they had not seen Damian in serious confrontations. All because Knyba boxed with strong middle peasants, but absolutely did not grow in relation to the opposition. Just think: he went from Joy Daveyk to Agit Kabael at once!
Thousands of fans in Germany were waiting for the show from their athlete. It was expected that Kabayel would win early. The Germans (and not only them) chanted the name of their boxer every time he appeared on the screen. And when he went to the ring. And when he hit the opponent with blows.
The start of the meeting was interesting. Kabael missed quite a lot. Pole’s uppercuts flew from below. Judging by everything, he was also hit in the face with a left hand – because Agita had a scar under his right eye. Most likely, the German even lost the 1st round. He didn’t look helpless, but he had enough problems.
What happened next to the Pole, who entered the ring dressed as a Polish warrior, is unclear. He actually shut down from the 2nd round. He tried to move and swing away, but several hits from his opponent seemed to scare him. Damian became more careful, threw fewer punches, and therefore hit less.
It was impossible to run all the time, the Ring has limits, and you can’t escape beyond them. And how to win if you don’t do the only thing that led to the result? You don’t attack.
In the 3rd round, Kabayel finally began to hit in full force. He got the opponent a lot, and those were really hard shots. Not that those who knock out in a moment. However, they brought a lot of discomfort to Knyba.
At a certain point, the referee decided to remove Damian. Yes, the Pole missed shots, no one will argue here. And did it for longer than a few seconds. And in general, nothing hinted that Knyba was going to win the match. It was difficult for him, he worried about the shots and stopped hitting the way he needed to.
However, the referee still decided to take him off early. As soon as the Pole was taken to the side, Knyba was removed. Although, obviously, he came back to consciousness quite quickly.
Again, this does not mean that victory was taken from the Pole. This means that the third person in the ring could try to give him a chance. But I decided that it was enough.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine What now? For Knyba, the blow is not so much defeat as how it happened. An early loss at the start of the meeting against the very first top opponent pushes him back a lot. He has no more wins, so Damian will be remembered as the 3rd round knockout by Kabael for quite some time.
Agit wants a fight for the title. Yes, he has a belt, but only a temporary one. In fact, only partially can be considered a champion. Kabayel wants to fight for the belt and against big names. Fabio Wordley and Daniel Dubois were among the options. Of course, Oleksandr Usyk too, but meeting him now is unlikely.
The Ukrainian himself chose his opponent, saying that he wants to fight Deontay Wilder. Negotiations are apparently ongoing, and the WBC has agreed to allow Usyk to make a voluntary title defense. This puts Agit at a huge disadvantage.
As for Wordley and DuBois, there are already different risks and different opportunities to get something from the results of the confrontation. Daniel and his team say that the return will be immediately after a top opponent, despite the knockout loss in the previous meeting. They, too, would have preferred to meet Wordley.
Fabio is ready. Everyone saw that he could be beaten: Huny was close, Parker was also having a good fight until he caught a headshot. That is, everyone can have a chance, but the chance of being knocked out here is extremely high.
However, from the fight against DuBois, Cabayel will receive a fee, respect in case of victory – that’s all. And, having beaten Wardley, he will also win a full-fledged championship title – everything, as he wanted.
However, there is not much faith in these two fights now. All due to the fact that Kabayel boxed everything at the start of the year, and Wordley and Dubois do not yet have an opponent. And therefore, time for negotiations plus the desire to return to the ring earlier – they may simply not agree on this.
On the other hand, because of the quick win, we may see Agit back in the ring soon. Maybe this time already in the fight for the trophy he is waiting for.