When the fight in the ring is over, the fight in the stands begins. In Magdeburg, the heavyweight boxer Agit Kabayel is to give an interview after his victory. Meanwhile, the spectators start a mass brawl.
About 50 people went at each other with chairs and iron bars. In a video it is clearly visible how a spectator hits a steward with his fist towards his face. When he goes down, a second person comes and kicks the man.
The scenes are brutal. Kabayel tries to calm the people over the microphone. “Hey guys, hey,” he calls again and again. In vain. After about six minutes, the mob was expelled from the premises. One steward was injured. He suffered a laceration and had to be treated in hospital.
The whole thing was apparently triggered by an argument about a wheelchair user who wanted to cheer with Kabayel.It is still unclear how these incidents could have arisen because of this. “These people are ruining the joy of my victory,” said the boxer. For the SES boxing stable, the fight was the 150th anniversary, promoter Ulf Steinforth said in the newspaper “Bild”: “I have never experienced anything like this in 150 events and I had imagined something else for the anniversary. It’s just disappointing and I don’t want fans like that here either.”
The 28-year-old Kabayel had previously successfully defended his WBA Continental Championship title against the American Kevin Johnson. The fight in front of 1000 spectators, a model project of the boxing club, on the Seebühne in Magdeburg was broadcast live by MDR.
The station did not show the brawl. Instead, during the brawl, a TV picture was shown that only showed the ring. The boxer and boxing team officials could be seen, shocked, trying to intervene with the crowd.
In any case, the joy of a good fight and victory was abruptly over. Kabayel’s coach Sükrü Aksu was supposed to be interviewed during the commotion, but immediately broke off the conversation. “This sucks, doesn’t it?” he said to the MDR reporter before the camera went off.