Tonight, on the huge “Ring of Fire” card in Riyadh, unbeaten German heavyweight Agit Kabayel scored a big stoppage win over fellow unbeaten Frank Sanchez of Cuba. Kabayel dominated all the way through, and he then dropped Sanchez twice in round seven to get the stoppage win. Both knockdowns came from body shots.
Sanchez was all done after the second knockdown, his face twisted in pain. Time was 2:33 ,of the 7th. Kabayel is now 25-0(17), while Sanchez loses for the first time as a pro and is now 24-1(17). Both men are 31 years old and both came in at the exact same weight at 238.5 pounds
Now, it has to be pointed out that, as impressive as Kabayel’s performance and win was – and we wish to take nothing away from him – Sanchez was wearing a knee brace on his right leg and the leg did seem to bother him all night. The southpaw often went to the ropes, where he looked to land a counter shot.
But Kabayel was the aggressive fighter all night, and he simply outworked Sanchez. Kabayel’s right hand clubbed into Sanchez’ head numerous times and it was clear the Cuban was not happy, or at all comfortable. Kabayel won every round apart from the opener on this card, and Kabayel even looked like he was enjoying himself in there.
Kabayel showed power, he never left Sanchez alone, and round after round he was piling up the points. Then, in the seventh, Kabayel closed the show, his earlier body work serving him well. A hard attack to the midsection sent Sanchez down, and the final left that smacked bang into Sanchez ‘ solar plexus left the beaten man in a state of agony.
With today’s win, a WBC eliminator, Kabayel scored the biggest win of his career thus far. Sanchez was administered oxygen in the corner after the fight.
If Sanchez was carrying an injury heading into today’s fight, it is crazy he was permitted by his team to go ahead with the bout. It could be a long road back for Sanchez.
