On Saturday, Kurdish boxer Agit Kabayel announced that he is now the WBC Heavyweight World Champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his titles.

“The first Kurdish heavyweight world champion in history and the first German heavyweight world champion in almost 100 years. Words can’t describe what I am feeling right now,” Kabayel posted on Instagram.

“Thank you to every single one of you for your support throughout this journey. This achievement belongs to all of us. I will do everything I can to hold this belt for a long time and add even more titles to my Collection.”

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Earlier this month, Kabayel challenged heavyweight champion Usyk for the world heavyweight title. Usyk did not accept the fight, even though the World Boxing Council said that Usyk would be stripped of his world heavyweight title if he did not face Kabayel.

Then, on Friday, Usyk announced on his Instagram that he had vacated the IBF, WBA, and WBC heavyweight titles and will participate in one more fight before retiring. 

On January 10, Kabayel successfully defended his WBC interim heavyweight title and beat his rival Damian Knyba at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.

Kabayel is sponsored by Visit Kurdistan, Kurdistan’s tourism and heritage promotion company, and visited the Kurdistan Region in April last year.