Agit Kabayel Dominates Unbeaten Frank Sanchez on Fury-Usyk Undercard

On Saturday, May 18, we saw Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) send a statement to the heavyweight division as he dismantled the previously unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez (24-1, 17 KOs). The heavyweight bout and the rest of the undercard were a part of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undercard at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The impressive performance of the German topped off what was an entertaining undercard that saw stirring performances from Moses Itauma and Mark Chamberlain. The entire card was available on a variety of platforms on PPV, including DAZN, Sky Sports, TNT Sports and PPV.com.

Agit Kabayel Defeats Frank Sanchez by TKO

Agit Kabayel vs. Frank Sanchez Recap

The first round saw a right hand from the Cuban-born fighter, which backed Kabayel up. Sanchez countered well to the pressure from Kabayel. The German fighter had an impressive second round, backing up Sanchez and mixing his shots well to the body and head.

Over the next two rounds, Kabayel maintained excellent pressure while impressing with the body shots he was throwing, which were clearly affecting the Cuban, who seemed to be waiting for one big shot. The pressure from the German continued, with a well-timed right hand in round five and continued impressive bodywork. 

Round six again saw more pressure from the German, and in round seven, Kabayel landed a beautiful body shot, which forced the Cuban to the canvas. Despite beating the count, more brutal body shots soon happened, flooring the Cuban once more – leaving him unable to beat the count, with Kabayel winning by seventh-round KO. That was impressive from the German, who will be a problem for any heavyweight in the world.

Post Fight Quotes

In the post-fight interview, Kabayel said: “I trained very hard for this opportunity.”

Speaking on tactics: “Go to the body, go to the head.”

“I’m ready for the next.”

“Whoever is next, I’m ready.”

Undercard

Moses Itauma (9-0, 7 KOs) blew Ilija Mezencev (25-4, 21 KOs) away in the second round, winning by TKO. Itauma spent most of the first round sizing his opponent up before landing a counter-left combination, which sent the Kazk-born fight retreating and somehow surviving the round. The Chatham fighter landed a beautiful combination, ending with a massive right hand, which knocked Mezencev down and ultimately left him unable to continue.

Mark Chamberlain (16-0, 12 KOs) impressed, defeating Joshua Wahab (23-2, 16 KOs) by first-round TKO. Chamberlain showcased his impressive accuracy and power as he bulldozed his way through his opponent. The Portsmouth native is a favourite of Turki Alalshikh, and it’s easy to see why.

Sergey Kovalev (35-5-1, 29 KOs) suffered a defeat – losing by unanimous decision to Robin Sirawn Safar (17-0, 12 KOs), with the judges scorecards reading 97-92, 99-90 and 95-94. Safar picked his punches well throughout and landed the more eye-catching shots, with Kovalev unable to get any momentum going. Safar also scored a final-round knockdown with a big left-right combination.

David Nyika (9-0, 8 KOs) defeated Michael Seitz (12-1, 10 KOs) by fourth-round TKO in their cruiserweight bout. Seitz had moments of success with single shots – but the New Zealand native had great accuracy in his shots, which ultimately broke down the German, forcing the stoppage.

Daniel Lapin (10-0, 4 KOs) scored an impressive first-round knockout victory over Octavio Pudivtr (9-2, 4 KOs). Following a stiff jab, the Ukrainian followed up with a vicious flurry of punches, stopping his Portuguese opponent.

Isaac Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KOs) defeated Hasibullah Ahmadi (16-2, 5 KOs) in their featherweight bout, boxing well for the majority of the fight, varying his attacks impressively, scoring a knockdown with a beautifully timed left hook in round eight. The referee scored the contest 97-92.