Agit Kabayel vs Zhilei Zhang Preview Feb. 22nd, 2025
The WBC Interim Heavyweight Title is on the line in Saudi Arabia this Saturday, Feb. 22nd as former WBO Interim Boss Zhilei Zhang of China battles it out with unbeaten Agit Kabzayel of Germany. The 12-round bout can be seen live in most nations on pay-per-view. Zhang last fought in June when he stopped former world champion Deontay wilder in the fifth round while Kabayel halted Frank Sanchez in the seventh round in his last outing in May.
Kabayel vs Zhang Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Zhilei Zhang +145
- Agit Kabayel -175
My Pick
Kabayel is 32 years of age but isn’t isn’t very well known outside of Europe. However he certainly made a name for himself on the world scene with his recent demolition jobs over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez. Kabayel makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 25-0 with 17 Ko’s and has fought 125 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011. He possesses good power in his arsenal as his current knockout ratio sits at 68 per cent. He’s stopped his last four opponents but went the distance in his three previous bouts.
Kabayel measures 6-feet-3-inches with a reported 80-inch reach. As far as heavyweight belts go, Kabayel, who has Turkish roots, has won the vacant European Heavyweight Title twice and the vacant WBC Mediterranean Heavyweight Belt once. His biggest wins have been against Sanchez, Makhmudov, Dereck Chisora, Miljan Rovcanin, Andrii Rudenko, Evgenios Lazaridis, Herve Hubeaux, Kevin Johnson and Pavel Sour. This will be Kabayel’s third fight outside of Europe and third in a row in Saudi Arabia.
The southpaw Zhang is now 41 years old and has a fine mark of 27-2-1 with 22 Ko’s with his controversial 12-round unanimous decision loss to Filip Hrgovic in 2022 being his first pro defeat. He also dropped a 12-round majority decision to Joseph Parker last March to lose his interim title even though he decked Parker in the third and eighth rounds. His record is built on power as 81.5 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage including his last six. He’s boxed just 110 rounds since turning pro in 2014 and has gone 10 rounds twice and 12 rounds twice. The first time he went the distance was in 2019 when he beat Andriy Rudenko by unanimous decision to retain his WBO Oriental Heavyweight Title which he won back in 2017 with a first-round stoppage of Peter Graham.
He fought to a 10-round draw with Jerry Forrest in February, 2021 after dropping Forrest in each of the first three rounds and then having a point deducted for holding in the ninth round. Zhang completely ran out of gas in that fight and seemed to be out on his feet several times from pure exhaustion but managed to see the final bell. He went 12 rounds with Hrgovic in 2022 and lost 115-112, 115-12 and 114-113 on the judges’ scorecards.
Zhang measures 6-feet-6-inches with an 80-inch wingspan so has a three-inch height advantage on Kabayel. He won the WBO Interim Title in April, 2023 when he stopped Joe Joyce in the sixth round and then stopped him in the third round of their rematch five months later. He also has wins over Scott Alexander, Devin Vargas, Byron Polley, Curtis Harper, Mark Brown Galen Brown, Curtis Harper and Don Haynesworth.
Even at his age, Zhang is still making a name for himself around the world as a pro due to his power and he also enjoyed quite a fine amateur career. Zhang, who now fights out of New Jersey, won a silver medal for China as a super heavyweight at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as a bronze medal at the world amateur championships in 2007 and 2009. He was beaten in the amateurs by Grzegorz Kielsa, Odlanier Solis, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Roberto Cammarelle and Anthony Joshua but had a win over Parker.
Prediction…
Zhang has the power to instantly turn a fight around with one punch but he’s not a young man anymore at the age of 41. Zhang needs to get to Kabayel early as he simply tires out and runs out of gas in his fights with each passing round. He also has a habit of not throwing enough punches and he definitely can’t afford to do that against Kabayel this weekend. Nothing will surprise me but I give the edge to Kabayel as he’s nine years younger and lets his hands go. As long as his chin is solid, I can visualize Kabayel actually stopping Zhang in the second half of the fight.
Zhang doesn’t have the stamina to be effective over 12 rounds.
Play: Kabayel -175 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Agit Kabayel betting • Zhilei Zhang betting