News Center – Kurdish boxer Agit Kabayel defended his belt by defeating his Polish opponent Damian Knyba with a technical knockout in Germany. Kabayel gave the message “Freedom for Rojava” after the match.
Agit Kabayel stepped into the ring last night at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.
The Kurdish boxer fought against Damian Knyba to defend the “interim world heavyweight championship” belt in the WBC Heavyweight Boxing Championship.
In front of approximately 13 thousand spectators, Kabayel defended his title by defeating his opponent with a technical knockout in the third round.
With this result, the Kurdish boxer achieved the 27th victory in his professional career and this was his 19th knockout.
Despite being injured at the start, Kabayel remained calm in the match, increased his pressure and dominated the game superbly.
For many Kurds in the room, those moments were about much more than sports. Many well-known names of the Kurdish community were also there and supported Agit.
Famous Kurdish artist Hozan Dino said the following about the importance of this success:
“Such events are very important for building a nation because they bring our people together. These events include boxing, football and art. Kurds from four parts of Kurdistan came together here. There are more than 12 thousand Kurds here. What happened in Rojava hurts our hearts, but we must also experience this joy. We are very united. We see that all our people are here and Agit represents us. We wish him success.”
Cihad Akipa also expressed his views before the match as follows:
“I know what will happen. Agit will win by knockout, in the 3rd round at the latest. Rudolf-Weber-Arena has a capacity of 13 thousand people and there is a feeling that there are 13 thousand Kurds here today. What Agit achieved is now history. I am sure that he could have filled the Lanxess Arena with 20 thousand people. All Kurds should support each other as they do now.”
After his success, Agit Kabayel gave a clear message to Kurdish fans and the people of Rojava.
Kabayel talked about the importance of Kurdish support and Kurdistan flags at the press conference; He sent his greetings to the residents of the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo, Sheikh Maksud and Ashrafiye.
“I am happy to represent Kurdistan”
Agit Kabayel told Rûdaw:
“The support given to me is very important. These are my roots, I am of Kurdish origin; the support I received from Kurdistan is unique. As you said, so many Kurds were here, I believe there were 13 thousand spectators, and I estimate that about 8,500 to 9 thousand of them were Kurds. I am happy for this support, I am happy to represent Kurdistan and I carry both peoples in my heart.”
“Freedom for Rojava”
Kurdish boxer Kabayel continued by wishing success for Rojava:
“I have a special message, I have said it before: Freedom for Rojava. This is for everyone who has information. We cannot close our eyes to what is happening there right now, we must look there and draw people’s attention to it. Innocent people are being evicted there from their homes and as I said, please do not turn away, we must all be together. The issue is not just being Kurdish, the issue is humanity. We must all be together and draw attention to the fact that innocent people are being killed.”
With this 27th win in 27 matches in his professional career, Kabayel is getting closer to his dream of becoming a world champion.
