Kabayel’s right eye was a crimson red and in need of work from his corner after a frenzied first round where Knyba caught him clean in their close-range exchanges, perhaps more often than even he expected. Cut in an awkward spot just above the eyelid, that didn’t stop the forward pressure, though Knyba responded by curling hooks through the guard.
Chopping right hands were doing the trick for Kabayel, who grew in confidence with each passing minute and that culminated with a gruelling third round.
A sellout 12,000 crowd basked in the excitement of a marquee show in Germany for the first time since 2020, and soon enough they would have their long-awaited outcome, albeit with referee Mark Lyson’s early trigger after seeing Knyba absorb one too many clean shots.
Herrera rallies from knockdown, stops Nunez
Panamanian veteran Nunez (26-8, 22 KOs) couldn’t believe his luck in the early stages though, landing hooks and piercing through the Joe McNally-trained contender’s leaky defences all too easily. It wouldn’t last.
Herrera found his groove behind the left hand and unbothered by absorbing heat to fire off his own, he wore down Nunez in the middle rounds before rocking him into submission.
Undercard results:
Heavy: Petar Milas TKO10 Granit Shala
Junior lightweight: Nelson Birchall RTD5 Wilbert Panttin
Heavy: Roman Fury TKO4 Kevin Greenwood
Heavy: Nelvie Tiafack TKO2 Piotr Cwik
Heavy: Kevin Saszik KO1 Brian Zwart
Heavyweight: Daniel Dietz MD6 (57-57) Seun Salami
Middleweight: Gleb Bakshi TKO1 Juan Jose Rodriguez Duran
Cruiserweight: Oronzo Birardi KO4 Milosav Savic