Oleksandr Usyk’s next heavyweight fight is already being discussed, but it depends on him getting past Rico Verhoeven first.
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Mike Coppinger reported on X that Turki Alalshikh plans to sit down with Usyk to discuss a Ring Magazine heavyweight title fight against Agit Kabayel in Germany later this year, if Usyk defeats Verhoeven on May 23rd at the Pyramids of Giza.
“Turki Alalshikh plans to sit down with Oleksandr Usyk to discuss a Ring Magazine heavyweight title fight against Agit Kabayel later this year in Germany if Usyk defeats Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza,” said Mike Coppinger on X.
The proposed fight would pit Usyk against Kabayel, one of the few undefeated heavyweights still waiting for a big shot. Kabayel built his position with wins over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez, Zhilei Zhang and Damian Knyba.
Usyk still has to deal with Verhoeven before any Kabayel talk gets serious. This makes May 23 the first checkpoint. If Usyk wins, Germany could become the next landing spot for a major heavyweight title fight.
Turki Alalshikh basically flipped the script on the old “if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense” promoter logic. His focus appears to be much more on the Vision 2030 goals, using boxing to build global influence and brand authority rather than just chasing a domestic US or UK gate.
By placing Usyk with Kabayel in Germany, he expands the footprint. Germany used to be a major powerhouse for boxing. By bringing a Ring Magazine title fight there, he reclaims a major market that has been relatively quiet of late compared to the Riyadh or London scenes.
Hosting the fight in Germany is a clear indication that the target audience is local and European. While Germany has a massive boxing history (the Klitschko era), that doesn’t translate to a “must see” event for a fan in Manchester or Los Angeles unless they are deep into the boxing lore.
If he just played Joshua vs. Fury made, people would call it a circus. Making the Usyk vs. Kabayel mandatory fight shows he’s serious about the sports merit side of things, even if the casual fan in the States doesn’t know Kabayel yet.
Turki is willing to eat the cost of a fight that might not sell in the traditional sense, just to keep the division going and maintain his reputation as the guy who actually makes the best fight the best.
Last updated on 2026/05/03 at 12:57
