Agit Kabayel elevated to WBC heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished belts

Following news that unified champion Oleksandr Usyk has vacated all his world championship belts, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced today that his organization has officially elevated interim champion, Agit Kabayel, to full WBC heavyweight champion status on social media. 

German-Kurdish Kabayel, 27-0 (19 KOs), won the WBC’s interim heavyweight title by knocking out China’s Zhilei Zhang in six rounds in February of last year and has already successfully defended his interim belt with a three-round TKO over Damian Knyba in January of this year.

Kabayel is now the first Kurdish heavyweight world champion in history and Germany's first world heavyweight champion since Max Schmeling in 1932. The famous Klitschko brothers fought most of their careers out of Germany, however they were Ukrainian born. Kabayel is German born.

The 33-year-old was reportedly informed of his ascension via Zoom call from Sulaiman and various WBC board members, along with his team, headed by Queensberry CEO George Warren and manager Spencer Brown. 

A 15-year pro, Kabayel thanked loyal fans for their support and added, "I will do everything I can to hold this belt for a long time and add even more titles to my collection."