Agit Kabayel being described as the future of heavyweight boxing looks premature for a 34-year-old champion whose toughest tests could still be ahead. Spencer Brown offered that assessment at Tuesday’s kickoff press conference for Kabayel’s November 28 defense against Nelson Hysa.
“He is, for me, going to be the future of heavyweight boxing,” Brown said. “Since the day I met him, I knew greatness was coming. I really did. And he’s proved it to everybody.”
Brown also called Kabayel “the bogeyman of the heavyweights,” claiming nobody wants to fight him.
Kabayel has earned credit for his body punching, pressure, and ability to break opponents down. However, being at the top of his game now doesn’t mean he will stay there long enough to become the fighter Brown describes.
Zhilei Zhang exposed part of the concern last year. The 41-year-old dropped Kabayel with a left hand in the fifth round before being stopped in the sixth. Kabayel’s recovery showed toughness, but the knockdown also showed the danger of taking clean punches while trying to wear down a heavyweight.
Against an opponent who can keep throwing hard shots beyond the early rounds, that approach could become much more costly. Kabayel is hittable, and his pressure requires him to spend considerable time within punching range.
His best wins have come against Zhang, Frank Sanchez, Damian Knyba, Arslanbek Makhmudov and Derek Chisora. Sanchez’s knee trouble adds context to that victory; his co-manager subsequently disclosed that he underwent knee surgery.
It’s a useful collection of wins, but Kabayel still hasn’t faced Filip Hrgovic, Fabio Wardley, Daniel Dubois or Moses Itauma. Those fights would tell us considerably more about whether he can lead the division.
Beating the 42-year-old Hysa won’t settle that argument. Brown can talk about greatness, but Kabayel needs victories over the strongest available heavyweights to support it. At 34, he has less time to build that record than the “future” description suggests.
