STEVE’S SOAPBOX MANDATORY READING By Steve Kim
took place over a 14-month period, but by today’s standards that is an impressive run. When he stopped Zhang in six rounds in February 2025, he became the WBC interim heavyweight champion. Meanwhile in July 2025, in what was their second go-around, Usyk took care of Dubois in five heats to regain the IBF title. He would not fight again until he faced Verhoeven. So the question has to be asked:
fights for his guys. So what does Sulaiman do? Instead of insisting that Usyk-Kabayel take place at the beginning of the year, before Usyk- Verhoeven was announced, he made the decision to wait until after Usyk took care of that assignment to call for this mandatory. But in the meantime, the WBC decided to sanction the Verhoeven challenge as an official title fight. Sulaiman was trying to get two bites out of this apple. Instead of being a
One thing is clear: As established fighters start to earn the really big money, the belts become less important to them. What was once so valuable in their early days becomes a bit of a nuisance. The reality is that with Usyk having just one more bout remaining, there was no need to have any sanctioning body titles since he was never going to defend them anyway. There is a chance that Usyk was never going to face Kabayel and his two-
Usyk vs. Kabayel looks destined to remain in the fantasy realm forever.
During this stretch of time between Usyk’s victory over Dubois and when his bout with Verhoeven was announced, why didn’t the WBC mandate that Kabayel become his next foe? This is one of the problems with the WBC; they arbitrarily enforce their rules when it suits them, and oftentimes ditch those guidelines to curry favor with certain boxers who simply represent too big of a sanctioning fee to be distracted with such things as difficult mandatory challenges. And that’s another bone of
fisted body attack, but the WBC’s mandatory challenger should’ve at least known where he stood in all this. After his victory over Zhang, Kabayel was sidelined until a stay-busy homecoming fight against Damian Knyba in early January. Kabayel needed just three rounds to finish the job. We fast-forward to the summer, and Kabayel is now the full WBC heavyweight champion. He didn’t have to face anyone for this title; he was simply elevated after Uysk’s announcement. It is a bit reminiscent of how Ken
After stopping Zhang in early 2025, Kabayel didn’t fight for nearly a year.
contention that many have. These so- called interim titles of the sanctioning bodies (some are worse culprits than others) often become a bit too permanent. If you look up the word “interim,” the definition is “a temporary period of time between two events, or something designed to be used until a permanent replacement is established.” It’s one thing to be the No. 1 contender. It’s another to be named the actual mandatory challenger. But it really means nothing until the sanctioning body actually orders the fight and a period of negotiation is announced (with the resulting purse bid if a deal cannot be reached). Frank Warren, the head of Queensberry Promotions, which represents Kabayel, made it very clear earlier in the year that he would be doing everything in his power to have his client’s interests protected. Say what you will about Warren, but he
Norton became the WBC champion following Leon Spinks’ decision to rematch Muhammad Ali rather than make his mandatory defense. Truth be told, this isn’t a bad deal for Kabayel or Warren. It’s far from a guarantee that Kabayel would have toppled a more focused version of Usyk. And now Warren can say that he has the WBC and WBO titleholders in the fold in addition to streaking young contender Moses Itauma, who might be the future of this division. Warren and his company are the true winners in this scenario. In light of the recent developments, this is a whole new division, and the sanctioning bodies have already begun preparing for it. The IBF has mandated that Itauma (who already has a late summer appointment versus Filip Hrgovic) face Frank Sanchez for their vacant title. As for Kabayel, his biggest nights lie ahead of him.
I n late June, Oleksandr Usyk announced that he would have one final fight this year before calling it a career. The reigning heavyweight champion also made the surprise announcement that he was vacating his three sanctioning body title belts (IBF, WBA and WBC). Usyk, who struggled to retain his crown against Rico Verhoeven on May 23, did not abdicate his Ring Magazine belt. “It’s a good day to say that I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold,” Usyk posted on his social media. “I want to make them available so the [guys] who are next in line can fight for them. I’m leaving the belts but I’m not leaving the sport, because I still have my last dance.” And just like that, Usyk is now a former heavyweight champion in the
eyes of some fans and media (although he’s still recognized by The Ring and he can still claim the lineal title, as he has still not lost a fight inside the ring and has not formally retired). Regardless, it was a gracious message from Usyk, who added: “I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all organizations. I want to thank everyone and say more to come.” T hat graciousness was not reciprocated by the head of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman, who posted in response to Usyk’s video announcement: “What a disappointment [it] is for me to learn from a social media video that our heavyweight champion is vacating his WBC title. This is the current life we live in. I would
even think this is AI … I personally wish Usyk great success in his life inside and outside the ring.” Well, no need to take this personally, Mauricio. But here’s the thing: You helped cause this situation. In fact, you enabled it the whole way. You helped Oleksandr make his great escape away from your mandatory challenger, Agit Kabayel. Let’s go back. Kabayel – currently the No. 2-ranked heavyweight in the Ring Magazine rankings behind WBO beltholder Daniel Dubois – has been on a tear in recent years. He racked up consecutive victories versus Arslanbek Makhmudov (undefeated at the time), Frank Sanchez (also unblemished when he entered their 2024 fight) and Zhilei Zhang, all by stoppage. The victories
regulatory body that is designed to protect all the fighters in the game, the WBC became an enabler to one of the elite. They deserved this outcome. And rumors are that Usyk will be facing Deontay Wilder or have a rematch with Verhoeven. MMA legend Jon Jones has even been mentioned. Regardless, he will not be facing his WBC mandatory or anyone else that is ordered by a sanctioning body. His “last dance” will come against whoever he damn wants. This is a lesson learned for Sulaiman: Even the most honorable of fighters (which Usyk has been throughout his storied career) will do what’s in their best interest, especially as they reach the conclusion of their days inside the ring.
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