For Tyson Fury, the appeal of Anthony Joshua is obvious: it is the bigger commercial fight, the cleaner headline and the kind of event that can carry a venue by itself. But if that plan collapses, Agit Kabayel is the name lurking underneath it, and he is not the kind of substitute a heavyweight can treat lightly.
Kabayel has built his case the hard way. He stopped Arslanbek Makhmudov in four rounds, Frank Sanchez in seven and Zhilei Zhang in six, a run that tells you more than a simple win-loss record ever could. That is three dangerous heavyweights, three stoppages and a profile that makes him a genuine sporting threat rather than a convenient stand-in. He is the type of opponent who works the body, fights well on the inside and can turn a backup assignment into a hard night.
Why Kabayel is a tougher Plan B than most
The concern for Fury is not just that Kabayel is in form. It is that his style asks awkward questions of a fighter who no longer moves for 12 rounds as he once did. Fury at his best could make a bout long, awkward and draining. At this stage, that kind of sustained movement is harder to bank on, and that matters against someone who is willing to close distance and make the exchanges physical.
Kabayel is also carrying momentum from recent results that should command respect. Stopping Makhmudov in four rounds was a statement. Doing the same to Sanchez in seven and Zhang in six reinforced it. Those are not the kind of wins that happen by accident, and they help explain why he is being framed as more than a fallback option if Anthony Joshua withdraws from the November 20 plan at Madison Square Garden.
Fury previously held the WBC belt for five years, which is part of why any replacement conversation is being measured against his standard at the top of the division. A lesser substitute might protect the event commercially but weaken it as a fight. Kabayel does the opposite. He keeps the credibility and raises the danger.
There is still a reason the Joshua fight is the preferred outcome. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua remain the larger attraction, and the business case is clear. But if the card has to pivot, Kabayel gives it a real heavyweight test rather than a safe one. As noted in the broader discussion around the fallback options, this is not just about keeping Fury active; it is about whether the replacement can still feel like a meaningful fight. Kabayel can.
That is what makes this situation interesting. If Joshua stays in, Fury gets the marquee event. If Joshua drops out, Fury may still box at Madison Square Garden on November 20, but the night could become more dangerous than the original plan ever suggested. In heavyweight boxing, that is often the fine line between a business decision and a serious fight.
