Agit Kabayel recently found out he had become WBC heavyweight champion while thousands of feet in the air, blindsided by an urgent message from his team mid-flight.
The unbeaten German recently spoke about the moment of coronation arriving in a way he never saw coming.
Kabayel was elevated to full champion status after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBC heavyweight title. He didn’t brace for negotiations over a vacant-title fight. Kabayel learned he had already been upgraded to world champion.
An Unexpected Coronation
Kabayel revealed he received the news while on a flight, when his team reached him with an urgent message. Instead of the drawn-out matchmaking process he expected, he was told the belt was already his.
This was unbelievable,” Kabayel said to Ring Magazine, talking about his thoughts on being elevated to WBC heavyweight champion outside of the ring.
“I was on the airplane and Spencer wrote me, ‘Please call me back.’ When I called him, he said, ‘Congratulations Agit, you are the heavyweight world champion right now.’ This was crazy. This was unbelievable.
The turn of events caps a stretch of uncertainty around the WBC’s heavyweight picture. Usyk’s decision to vacate all of his heavyweight titles cleared the path for Kabayel’s promotion to full champion.
We talked with the team from Usyk for the potential fight in Germany, but we have not a deal,” Kabayel said. “For me, it was better when I fight with Usyk. He’s the greatest in my division right now. But it is what it is. I respect it a lot.
Before the vacancy, there had been questions over whether Kabayel would even get the chance to fight for the belt. Earlier reporting noted how Usyk’s status threatened to complicate a Kabayel title fight, with a WBC deadline hanging over both camps.