After Usyk’s 11th-round stoppage victory to retain his Ring and WBC belts on Saturday in the main event of “Glory in Giza” in Egypt, Agit Kabayel was in the ring and called for a shot at the unified heavyweight champion next.

Usyk responded by saying he was ready to face the undefeated German heavyweight next.     

“I’ve waited so long for this situation,” Kabayel said. “I’m ready. I think Germany is ready for the fight. I know many Ukrainian people live in Germany. Let’s do it in Germany in a stadium. I think all the fans in boxing want this fight. Let’s do it, Usyk.”

Said Usyk: “Let’s do it. No problem. I’m ready.”

Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 2 heavyweight and the No. 1 contender for Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title. Kabayel’s co-promoter, Spencer Brown, said the fight is going to be ordered by the WBC and will be next. He added that he hoped the fight would take place at the end of September or October in Germany.

“There can only be one fight,” Brown said in the post-fight interview. “Both agreed to it. Let’s get it on.”

Turki Alalshikh hopes to make Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) versus Kabayel at a stadium in Germany.

Boxing has commonly been billed as the theater of the unexpected, and Usyk, The Ring’s No. 2 fighter pound-for-pound, nearly found himself on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Two of the judges, Manuel Oliver Palomo and Fabian Guggenheim, had the bout 95-95, while Pasquale Procopio had Verhoeven ahead 96-94 heading into the 11th. 

With the fight hanging in the balance, Usyk’s championship mettle shone through, as he dropped Verhoeven with a right uppercut with just over 20 seconds left in the 11th. Verhoeven rose to his feet on wobbly legs and walked unsteadily to his corner after spitting out his mouthpiece. 

Knowing the end of the round was near, Usyk pressed the action with Verhoeven’s back to the corner. As the Ukrainian flurried, referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight right as the bell rang.

Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO), who was 66-10 with 21 KOs as a kickboxer and reigned as the Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion from 2013-25, said on social media that he filed an official protest of the result.