Arslanbek Makhmudov: Can he come back from his loss to Kabayel?

By Nationvegas - 12/29/2023 - Comments

#3 WBC, #4 WBA heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov suffered his first career defeat in a surprise fourth round knockout upset loss to unbeaten Agit Kabayel last Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Makhmudov (18-1, 17 KOs) is going to have a difficult time coming back from this loss because he was dominated by the 31-year-old Kabayel (24-0, 16 KOs) the entire fight, not just in the fourth round.

Kabayel outboxed and out-slugged the big 6’5″ Makhmudov, knocking him down three times before the fight was stopped in the fourth. What Kabayel exposed in that fight was Makhmudov’s inability to handle body shots, as he was troubled from the get-go with the shots, and he poured it on once he observed that he couldn’t handle the punches.

The management for Makhmudov can’t afford to take their time rebuilding him over two or three years because he’s not young enough for them to drag this out.

They need to figure out what the issues are with taking body shots because everyone is going to attack that area until he proves he can take it.

“The fight is finished. We gave it everything in this training camp, and I won the fight,” said Agit Kabayel to Queensberry Boxing Promotions following his victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov last Saturday night.

“Yes, 100%. My trainer made everything perfect. He told me in training, ‘Body, head, and we win the fight,'” said Kabayel on the game plan for from his trainer to defeat the big 6’5″ Makhmudov. “More, I cannot say.”

Makhmudov was backing up against the ropes repeatedly, which made it easier for Kabayel to hit him with body shots because he was trapped. It would have been a good idea for Makmudov’s trainer to tell him in between ropes to stay in the center of the ring, as he seemed to fight a lot better when he was in that area.

“I’m not a trash-talker. When you give me the next opportunity, I’m ready. I’ve been training for this. When the fans say, I’m ready for the world title. I’m ready for this,” said Kabayel.

It’s unlikely that Kabayel will be getting a world title shot against any of the champions. He’s going to have to become a mandatory challenger before he gets a crack at a belt.

“Today, I knock him out, and I hope the fans give me the credit,” said Kabayel.

“You boxed beautifully. I was watching from afar. It was amazing. Well done,” said Dereck Chisora, complimenting Kabayel on his performance. “The way I look at it. If you have a bad day in the office, you lose the fight. The guy that he boxed today had 20 knockouts?”

“15,” said Kabayel.

“15 knockouts, but he hasn’t been boxing,” said Chisora about Makhmudov. “His record was made up. When you fight a real fighter, you find it hard. When you looked at you jabbing, jabbing, and he didn’t know what to do. What was he trying to do? Swing and swing. It was on point. Well done, brother,” said Chisora.

“I don’t know. We’ll see. I’ll go home and see my family. Maybe in one week, we can talk,” said Kabayel when asked who he wants to fight next. I’ll talk to my team, and they’ll say one name. We’ll see.”

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