Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel: Fight date, ring walk time, how to watch, undercard

A pair of experienced fighters, Zhang Zhilei and Agit Kabayel, go head-to-head for the vacant interim WBC heavyweight title in a potentially hard-hitting undercard bout at the Last Crescendo boxing event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Zhilei, who is 41 years old, fought each of his last two bouts in Riyadh. He lost via mixed decision to Joseph Parker in March of last year before beating former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder via fifth-round TKO just three months later.

Kabayel, who is younger at 32 years old, also fought his last two bouts in Riyadh, and he knocked out Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez in December 2023 and May 2024, respectively.

Here, we have all you need to know for this undercard bout for the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel date

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel time

The ring walk for Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel is scheduled to take place around 12:40 PM ET/11:40 AM CT/9:40 AM PT, but the exact timing depends on how long the preceding fights take to finish.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel venue

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

How to watch Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel, streaming

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel will be streamed on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

Are there any belts on the line for Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel?

Yes. The vacant WBC interim heavyweight championship is on the line in Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel.

Zhilei Zhang record

22-2-1 (22 KOs)

Born in China, Zhilei Zhang represented his nation of birth in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - and earned the silver medal in the super-heavyweight division - before he turned professional in 2014.

Zhang began his pro career in the United States, as he fought and won six bouts before his first pro fight in his home country. He won half of his first six fights via decision, but he won four fights via TKO between February and June of 2016.

He challenged for his first championship in January 2017, beating Peter Graham for the vacant WBO Oriental heavyweight title via first-round knockout. He won his next five fights - none of which had the belt on the line - and successfully defended it twice, once in 2018 and once in 2019.

Zhang failed to win a professional fight for the first time in February 2021, when he drew with Jerry Forrest in Miami. He followed that up with KO wins over Craig Lewis and Scott Alexander, but he suffered his first career loss in 2022, falling to Filip Hrgovic via unanimous decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The man nicknamed "Big Bang" picked up consecutive wins over Joe Joyce to win and then retain the WBO interim heavyweight title, but he then lost it via mixed decision to Joseph Parker in Riyadh in March 2024.

In his most recent fight, a non-title bout against former heavyweight champion and hard-hitter Deontay Wilder. Zhang won the fight via TKO in the fifth round.

Agit Kabayal record

25-0 (17 KOs)

Agit Kabayal, a 32-year-old boxer from Leverkusen, Germany, enters his bout against Zhilei Zhang with an unblemished record.

The first four fights of Kabayal's career were four-round bouts in Germany, and he won two via TKO and two via points. Once he moved into six-round fights, he became a KO machine.

In 2013 and 2014, Kabayal won all four of his six-round bouts via KO/TKO and won an eight-round fight via TKO. Gbenga Olouykun took Kabayal the distance in the Leverkusen native's first 10-round fight, but Kabayal won via split decision to claim the vacant WBC Mediterranean heavyweight championship.

Kabayal never defended the WBC Mediterranean heavyweight belt, but he won four more times before challenging for - and winning - the European Union heavyweight title from Christian Lewandowski via seventh-round KO in a 12-round bout.

He successfully defended that belt four times and then beat Evgenios Lazaridis to add the WBA Continental heavyweight belt to his collection in July 2020.

Since then, he won the European heavyweight title again and then beat previously undefeated Arslanbek Makhmudov via fourth-round TKO to win the WBC-NABF and WBO-NABO heavyweight belts. He successfully defended the titles against Frank Sanchez in May 2024 in Riyadh.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel full fight card

• Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol; Undisputed light heavyweight title fight, for Beterbiev's WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring belts
• Martin Bakole vs. Joseph Parker
• Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley; For Stevenson's WBC lightweight title
• Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz; For Adames' WBC middleweight title
• Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov; For Ortiz Jr's WBC world interim super welterweight title
• Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel; For the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith; For Buatsi's WBO light heavyweight interim title