Kabayel Stops Knyba In Three

Want Usyk Unification!

By: Alfred Zimmerman

Saturday, January 10th, Rudolf Weber-Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany: In the main event of Frank Warren - Queensberry, Bob Arum - Top Rank promotion, “The Homecoming” streamed live on DAZN, Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany’s, Agit Kabayel defended his WBC Interim heavyweight title with a third-round TKO victory over Paterson, New Jersey based “Polish Hussar”, Damian Knyba.

The 33-year-old champion, giving away six inches in reach and sustaining an early cut above his right eye, weathered the 6-foot-7 Polish challenger’s aggressive start in round one began to take control.

In round two, the “Bavarian Lumberjack” successfully closed the distance, systematically dismantling his taller opponent with punishing head and body shots that visibly slowing the previously unbeaten Pole. Keeping up the pressure, the hometown favorite unleashed a relentless barrage, highlighted by crisp right hands buckling Knyba’s knees, forcing referee Mark Lyson to stop the action in the final minute of round three. Kabayel improving to 27-0, 19Ko’s immediately called out champion Oleksandr Usyk for a unification clash while Knyba suffering his first defeat slips to 17-1, 11Ko’s.

In the semi-main event, Dubai based 23-year-old Cuban, Jadier “One Billion” Herrera took possession of the vacant WBC Interim World Lightweight title with a controversial eighth-round TKO stoppage of La Chorrera, Panama’s, Ricardo “The Scientist” Nunez.

Nunez the aggressor making it a physical war early forcing the unbeaten fighter to adapt quickly dominated the opening rounds with relentless forward pressure, crowding and testing “One Billion” with body shots. The controversy would begin in round two when the 32-year-old, “Scientist” appeared to drop the 23-year-old southpaw Herrera with a clean right hand. Herrera struggling to find range through some the rough exchanges landed a sharp straight left shifted momentum mid-fight, timing clean counters as Nunez appeared fatigue.

In the eighth, Herrera rocked Nunez against the ropes with a big right hand, following up with a flurry that prompted referee Daniel Van de Wiele to step in and stop the action, fueling even more debate as many ringside feeling Nunez could have continued openly expressed their dismay. Herrera improves 18-0,16Ko’s as Nunez coming in off a third round DQ loss to Jon Fernandez last June falls to 26-8, 22Ko’s.

In a high-stakes heavyweight showdown, Split, Croatia’s, Petar Milas captured the IBF International Heavyweight title with a dramatic tenth-round stoppage of Munich, Germany's, Granit Shala.

The clash of contrasting of styles saw Shala edge the early rounds working behind an active jab and targeting Milas to the body. The switch-hitting, sharper-punching challenger Milas, increasing his output, cutting off the ring, systematically wearing down Shala now dictating the exchanges going into the tenth and final round delivered a dramatic climax, sending the champion to the canvas with a punishing right.

Salas showing the heart of a champion, beat the count only to run into a Milas follow-up three punch combination drawing a towel from the German corner prompting referee Timo Habighorst to halt the bout near the halfway mark of the tenth and final round. The 30-year-old newly crowned champion, Milas improves to 20-1, 16Ko’s. Shala with just his second defeat slips to 18-2, 7Ko’s.

In a ten-round contest, Belgrade, Serbia, unbeaten middleweight prospect, Gleb Bakshi retained his WBA Intercontinental Middleweight title with a stunning first-round stoppage of Nuevo León, Mexico’s, Juan “Joe” Duran.

With his elevated amateur pedigree on full display, the 30-year-old, 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Bakshi hurriedly showcased his superior speed and technical precision unleashed and landed a decisive, well timed counter left-right, crushing left hook combination flooring the more experienced veteran, Duran, forcing the referee Rene Fiebig to put a halt to the fight just 54 seconds into round one. With his third straight KO victory Bakshi moves to 7-0, 5Ko’s. At 28 years old, Duran, 2-2 in his last four bouts falls to 21-2, 19Ko’s.

In a scheduled eight round stay busy cruiserweight match, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, Oronzo “The Barese Stallion” Birardi improved to 10‑0 with his first career knockout, stopping Novi Sad, Serbia’s, Milosav Savic in four rounds.        

Birardi, pressed the action early, landing clean shots, dictating the pace continued to pressure the Serbian veteran cracking Savic with powerful right hand and following him to the canvas with a controversial volley of shots overlooked by the referee who waved the bout over 59 seconds into round four. The 25-year-old, Birardi two victories from an August 2024 ten round points loss to Aloys Youmbi improves to 10-1, 7Ko’s. The 31-year-old, Savic stopped in three straight bouts drops to 9-11-1, 7Ko’s.

In a scheduled eight round all-German heavyweight clash Nordrhein-Westfalen’s, Kevin Saszik maintained his perfect record dispatching Wiesbaden, Hessen’s, Brian Zwart in one round.

Saszik started quickly taking control of the center of the ring, stalking the 22-year-old, 6’6” Dutchman pressing forward with precision and power, landing a clean, heavy right hand that visibly stunning Zwart. Recognizing the opportunity, the 34-year-old, German immediately followed with a whipping right that sent Zwart crashing to the canvas forcing the referee to swiftly stop the match before the bell closing round one. Saszik stays unbeaten at 10-0, 4Ko’s. The late replacement Zwart winless in his last seven bouts sinks to full opponent status at 6-7, 4Ko’s.

In a hard-hitting six-round heavyweight match, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany’s, Daniel “Triple D” Dietz battled Vienna, Austria based unbeaten Nigerian, Seun Salami to a hard fought, competitive six round majority draw.

The taller German, Dietz used his jab to control distance while the relentless Nigerian, Salami pressed forward forcing exchanges at close range landing ripping body shots, uppercuts and hard right hands, landing solid counters in the middle rounds.  Dietz, re-establishing his jab in round five regained his momentum with Salami's volume and pressure keeping the bout competitive to the final bell for a referee Mark Lyson scored 57-57 majority draw. Dietz moves to 15-1-1, 7Ko’s while Salami remains undefeated at 9-0-1, 7Ko’s.

In a six round all German heavyweight bout, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen prospect, Nelvie Tiafack delivered another emphatic statement stopping Bayern’s, Piotr “Bubu” Cwik in two rounds.

The 27-year-old, Tiafack took control from the opening bell with a stiff jab, superior footwork and a clear power advantage dictating the action forcing the “Bubu” into survival mode early. Noticing, Ćwik battling a swollen right eye Tiafack increased the pressure overwhelming his 42-year-old, foe with a systematic barrage of head and body shots dropping his 42-year-old foe twice in round two forcing the referee to put a halt to the contest at 1:50 of round two. Tiafack stays perfect at 3-0, 3Ko’s. Cwik on a four-bout skid drops to 9-6, 8Ko’s.               

In a showcase, record padding scheduled six round heavyweight preliminary, Salford, Lancashire, UK, southpaw, Roman Fury remained unbeaten with a fourth round TKO stoppage of Farnborough, Hampshire, UK’s 42-year-old, “opponent, Kevin “Green Machine” Greenwood.

From the opening bell, the 29-year-old, younger half-brother of Tyson Fury controlled the tempo with a stiff, probing jab and disciplined long-range work. Bloodying Greenwood’s nose in the first round Fury denying “The Green Machine” any sustained offense mixing up head and body shots consistently beat the 42-year-old veteran to the punch bringing the one sided affair to a close in round four with a sharp multi-punch flurry that pierced Greenwood’s guard prompting the referee to the dismay of the paying audience to stop the bout in the closing seconds of round four. Fury improves to 6–0, 3Ko’s as Greenwood winless in his last eight bouts falls to 5-12, 1Ko.

Queensberry, time and time again, delivers a debut to a champion journey for richly talented young fighters and provides an unrivalled platform for them to showcase their ability to the widest possible audience via a major broadcast collaboration and an exceptional digital portfolio.

Fight promotions are regularly staged, servicing the requirements of novice prospects, contenders, title challengers and champions. Boxers are given every opportunity to build a following and maximize their potential.

The wall facing the entrance to the Queensberry headquarters bears the words ‘This is where the magic happens’ because, for decades, it has been the location where the biggest fights have been hatched and matched, where the biggest shows have been plotted and where the best fighters arrive to sign promotional terms for Frank Warren to guide their careers.

It is always about the fighters - with the key being development - but also about the sport, the business of boxing and conjuring up magical nights for the fans and making the fights they want to see.

The experience of Queensberry and the tried and trusted model for creating champions is unparalleled in the sport of boxing. The expertise of International Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren has been employed for some 45 years in the professional ranks building some of the biggest stars and navigating them to world champion status.

Frank specializes in taking young fighters right from debut and implementing his knowhow to pick the right fights at the right time and therefore ensuring the boxer is given every opportunity to maximize his or her potential.

Queensberry is currently in the position of being the world’s premier promotional organization, having spent many years building talent and putting in the foundations to ensure prolonged success. The company currently boasts a number of world champions, multiple world title contenders, numerous title-holders and the finest crop of young future stars anywhere in the world.

Queensberry fighters have been given the opportunity to shine on the major global stage both at home and abroad, under the Queensberry banner.

About Frank Warren

In an era spanning over 35 years, Hall of Fame boxing Promoter and Manager Frank Warren has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton are some of the iconic names he has promoted during his career.

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.