There was a time when it was questioned how Agit Kabayel would perform once he upgraded the competition.

The answer has been a knockout every time out.

At a stage where stoppage wins tend to become fewer and far between, Germany’s Kabayel continues to get stronger with each performance. The latest proof came in his off-the-canvas, sixth-round knockout of Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang to win the interim WBC heavyweight title this past Saturday at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Kabayel’s notable feat took place on the undercard of the Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev RING/undisputed light heavyweight championship rematch. The card as a whole was lauded as the most stacked of the 21st century, and the unbeaten heavyweight made a point to leave a lasting impression.

“I don’t look for the knockout but our main goal is always to entertain more and put on a show,” Kabayel told The Ring. “With that mentality, the knockouts have come easier.

“My team gives the game plan and I follow it. The results speak for themselves.”

The win marked the fifth consecutive stoppage for Kabayel (26-0, 17 KOs), including three in a row on Riyadh Season shows.

The current streak began with two made-to-order wins. Kabayel scored a first-round knockout of made-to-order Pavel Sour, who’d been stopped six times prior to their May 2022 meeting. Ten months later, he earned a third-round stoppage of Agron Smakici, whose other career defeat was a first-round knockout at the hands of then-unbeaten Zhan Kossobutskiy.

Kabayel’s past three wins, however, have justified his place as The Ring’s No. 5-rated heavyweight and rising.

His first Riyadh Season appearance saw the untested heavyweight come of age in a fourth-round knockout of unbeaten and heavily favored Arslanbek Makhmudov in Dec. 2023 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The same venue housed his seventh-round stoppage of Frank Sanchez in their May 2024 WBC title eliminator.

Both fighters boasted identical records of 24-0 (16 KOs) before Kabayel prevailed with two knockdowns en route to what was a career-best win at the time. Kabayel became the WBC mandatory challenger with the impressive stoppage victory. Furthermore, it came on the undercard of the first Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury RING/undisputed heavyweight championship.

The 32-year-old contender once again rose to the occasion—and this time, off the canvas—against China’s Zhang, who entered as The Ring’s No. 4 heavyweight contender. Kabayel shook off a fifth-round knockdown to score two of his own in the sixth, both the product of his dedicated body attack.

Kabayel has now earned a reputation as the division’s best body puncher and with a very high engine. The combination of those two attributes as well as his growing confidence has led to a series of high-profile, inside-the-distance victories on some of the sport’s biggest shows.

Now the WBC mandatory to reigning RING, WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), Kabayel is prepared to further prove his worth on the absolute highest stage.

“I just want to fight and prove myself against the best in the world,” Kabayel said of his drive to excel. “That is why we are part of Riyadh Season. Right now, Oleksandr Usyk is the best. He is the heavyweight champion of the world and we are both undefeated.

“But to be clear, we fight whoever His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] and Riyadh Season decide.”