Saudis will love Kabayel

[Zelda]

He is a modest Islamic man from Germany, his origins are Kurdisch. It is better having an Islamic champion, than these guys thanking to Jesus Christ and kissing the cross in the middle of Arabian world.

Kabayel will be one of key figures next year when one ore more belts become vacant. Saudis will put the money behind him and everybody will want to fight him.

And he is good also. I believe he can beat everybody not named Usyk , Fury or Joshua.

People (even in the Middle East) care more about how exciting a boxer is rather than his religion. Kabayel could become popular but only if he gets into hard fights and shows a heart. Nobody's getting a free ride based on religion alone. The people are smarter than you think.

[brettWall]

It must be apparent the Saudi leadership is slowly moving away from religious extremism. There are no longer religious police roaming their streets, as an example. I don't see them getting involved in current terrorism issues, like showing sympathies to horrific acts, etc.

[BustedKnuckles]

Kabayel is OK, but let's put things in perspective: he beat a one-legged Sanchez, and Makhmudov, as we have seen, was grossly overrated.

I still want to see him fighting someone at the very top level to see what he can do.

Maybe but who else was signing up to fight Sanchez?

And you said Makhmudov was overrated, but don't you only think that because Kabayel beat him down? That's circular logic: Kabayel is not good, Kabayel beat Mak, but Mak is not good because Kabayel beat him.

Who should he fight next? I like Parker, he's on a run and seems to have gotten a second wind in his career.

[Lance98]

Kurds are not well liked in many arab countries and were subject to discrimination and violence. I don't know what the saudis think of kurds, but I wouldn't make an assumption that everyone that practices islam are on board with each other.

[Tatabanya]

Maybe but who else was signing up to fight Sanchez?

And you said Makhmudov was overrated, but don't you only think that because Kabayel beat him down? That's circular logic: Kabayel is not good, Kabayel beat Mak, but Mak is not good because Kabayel beat him.

Who should he fight next? I like Parker, he's on a run and seems to have gotten a second wind in his career.

Let's just say that I would have loved to watch Kabayel against a healthy Sanchez. I was disappointed that the latter came injured, not least because I had bet on a draw...

If one studies Makhmudov's record, he knocked out a lot of tomato cans but couldn't manage to do that to the only decent fighter he had fought before Kabayel, namely Carlos Takam.

I'll be happy to see Kabayel against anyone. I'm thinking Zhang (I think he will lose to Wilder), or Joyce if he gets past Chisora without damage (as expected). Or the winner of Dubois vs Hrgovic.

[Tatabanya]

But who will he fight?

No one in the top ten will risk a fights vs. him and the big names are all tied up with fights. He might have to wait until Usyk get stripped of another belt, or reties.

It's all politics, as usual. As I wrote in my previous post, I'd love to see Kabayel vs the winner of Dubois vs Hrgovic. That would give us a clearer idea of Kabayel's actual worth and possibilities.

[JakeTheBoxer]

It must be apparent the Saudi leadership is slowly moving away from religious extremism. There are no longer religious police roaming their streets, as an example. I don't see them getting involved in current terrorism issues, like showing sympathies to horrific acts, etc.

Problem is, Fury and Usyk are both religious extremists.

Fury`s pathetic thanking to Jesus Christ and Usyk`s cross kissing is probably annoying for Arabs.

[BustedKnuckles]

Let's just say that I would have loved to watch Kabayel against a healthy Sanchez. I was disappointed that the latter came injured, not least because I had bet on a draw...

If one studies Makhmudov's record, he knocked out a lot of tomato cans but couldn't manage to do that to the only decent fighter he had fought before Kabayel, namely Carlos Takam.

I'll be happy to see Kabayel against anyone. I'm thinking Zhang (I think he will lose to Wilder), or Joyce if he gets past Chisora without damage (as expected). Or the winner of Dubois vs Hrgovic.

Any of those will be good fights. I don't know how old he is or how long he has been around, but I hope he stays busy and makes the most of his current momentum.