Warren made it clear he expects Usyk to defend against Kabayel next.
“[Kabayel] has beaten everybody he’s put in front of him, and he’s a real, real class act, a lovely guy, and he can fight,” said Warren to Sky Sports Boxing.
“He deserves to be in, in the number one spot, and he’s been there for a while.
“They’re talking about maybe doing a rematch with Usyk and Rico [Verhoeven], we’re not going to stand for that.”
Kabayel’s position has become a major talking point after Verhoeven pushed Usyk to the brink before being stopped in the final second of round 11. The Dutch kickboxing star stunned fans by backing Usyk up repeatedly and forcing him into long exchanges instead of the controlled boxing display many expected.
Warren said Kabayel has waited long enough for his title shot and warned there could be consequences if Usyk moves in another direction.
“Usyk’s been there long enough, and he wants his moment, and that’s what we’ll be pushing for with WBC, and hopefully get it over the line and do that same time in the autumn,” Warren said.
“If he doesn’t take it, he’ll have to vacate it, or be stripped, it’s as simple as that.
“You’re a champion, you defend the belts, that’s what you’re there for, if you don’t defend them, then you’ve got to give them up and let other people have an opportunity to build their name.”
Warren also admitted he was surprised by how competitive the Verhoeven fight turned out to be. Like many fans watching worldwide, he expected Usyk to handle the former GLORY kickboxing champion comfortably in only his second professional boxing bout. Instead, Warren believed Verhoeven was ahead on the cards before the stoppage.
“I thought it’d be fairly a routine type of job for Usyk, but that’s not how it turned out,” Warren said.
“Old Rico, he showed a lot of heart, a lot of desire, and he showed some skills, and he was very aggressive in his movements, and the way he came forward.
“For me, [Verhoeven] was winning the fight. I didn’t understand the scoring. I genuinely thought that he was in front by a few rounds.”
Warren stopped short of criticizing the referee outright, but he did say he felt the fight could have continued into the 12th round.
“I do feel the referee could have let it go on,” Warren said. “Having said that, the referee is not a timekeeper. That’s not his job. It’s when he feels it’s appropriate to stop a fight. That’s what he has to do.
“But I do feel he could have let it go on, considering where they’d got to in the 11th round, but he was close to the action. That was his decision, and it turned out to be a very, very exciting fight and a big surprise.”
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