Kabayel Gets His Homecoming, and Hysa Gets His Shot

Quick quiz: who is the WBC heavyweight champion of the world?

If you had to think about it, you're not alone. It's Agit Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs), the unbeaten German from Bochum. On Saturday, Nov. 28, he makes his first defense of that title against Albania's Nelson Hysa (25-0, 23 KOs) at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf. The stadium holds 60,000. It streams live on DAZN, and Queensberry is promoting.

That's a big night for a guy a lot of American fans couldn't pick out of a lineup.

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HOW KABAYEL GOT HERE

Kabayel did it the hard way, which is to say he did it the old-fashioned way. He beat Arslanbek Makhmudov, beat Frank Sanchez and then beat Zhilei Zhang in early 2025 to win the WBC interim title. He was elevated to full champion in June of this year, after Oleksandr Usyk gave up his belts.

In January he fought at home in front of a sold-out Rudolf Weber Arena in Oberhausen and stopped the previously unbeaten Damian Knyba in three rounds. Düsseldorf is close to Bochum, so this is about as close to a home game as a heavyweight title fight can get.

Frank Warren, never one to undersell, put it this way: "Agit Kabayel has rejuvenated the boxing market in Germany with his exploits in the heavyweight division and he will prove as much by defending his world title in front of over 60,000 fans in Dusseldorf on November 28."

And if you remember the German boxing boom of the Klitschko years, you know that a full stadium over there means something.

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WHO IS NELSON HYSA?

Fair question. Hysa has a shiny record: 25 fights, 25 wins, 23 by knockout. He holds the WBO Global title, and before that he held the WBO European belt for a long time. Last time out, on the Hrgovic-Itauma undercard in London, he stopped Thomas Narmo in two rounds. Then he called out Kabayel, and the two have been going back and forth on social media ever since.

Here's the catch. Hysa is 42 years old, and BoxingScene reports he isn't currently ranked by the WBC. He's a late starter who has stopped almost everyone in front of him, but he hasn't faced anyone close to Kabayel's level.

That doesn't mean he can't punch. Every heavyweight can punch. That's what makes the division fun. But 25-0 against regional opposition and 25-0 against contenders are two very different things.

THE NIGHT ITSELF

Nov. 28 is Albanian Independence Day, which is a nice touch. Hysa should have plenty of support in the building, and so will Kabayel. That's going to be a loud stadium.

Warren called it a fight with "all the ingredients for a heavyweight shootout, with two unbeaten knockout specialists." Kabayel's side, through Spencer Brown of Goldstar, sounded a lot more confident: "Hysa is a dangerous, hungry opponent, but Agit is on a mission and I fully expect him to win this fight in style."

THE MONEY

Germany doesn't publish fighter purses, so there will never be an official number for this one. It's on our Guess the Purse board anyway. Take your best shot. Nobody will ever be able to tell you you're wrong.

THE BOTTOM LINE

On paper this is a champion getting a winnable homecoming defense, which champions have done since the beginning of time. The real value is what comes after. A Kabayel who wins big in front of 60,000 is a Kabayel with leverage for the big unification fights.

So yeah, pay attention to this one. The heavyweight picture is going to run through Germany for a while.

Source: Queensberry press release, "Kabayel v Hysa Booked for World Title Showdown in Dusseldorf Live on DAZN" (Oct. 1–2, 2026); BoxingScene (Oct. 1, 2026) for Hysa's age and rankings.