Armand Krajnc

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Armand Krajnc
Armand Krajnc.jpg
Armand Krajnc
Born(1973-08-07)7 August 1973
NationalitySwedish
Other namesLion
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Reach191 cm (75 in)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights32
Wins29
Wins by KO21
Losses3

Armand Krajnc (born 7 August 1973) is a former Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2004. He held the WBO middleweight title from 1999 to 2002, and challenged once for the unified WBA (Super) and IBF super-middleweight titles in his final fight in 2004.

Contents

Early life

Krajnc's parents emigrated from Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia to southernmost Sweden, Scania before he was born. Before his professional career, he obtained first Dan, represented by the Black Belt, within the Karate style of Shotokan. This prepared him to become a hard-hitting boxer. When he began his professional career he moved to Malmö and commuted on a weekly basis to his new German boxing club and promoter in Lübeck in northern Germany.

Professional career

Known as "Lion", Krajnc turned pro in 1996, moving to Lübeck and signing up for a German promoter to avoid the Swedish ban on professional boxing. Three years later, in 1999, he won the WBO Middleweight Title by technical knock out (TKO) against Jason Matthews. Krajnc defended the title three times, before losing it to Harry Simon in 2002.

One of Krajnc's title defenses was against the Stockholm celebrity and fellow Swede Paolo Roberto. Krajnc had a low personal opinion of the latter and there was considerably controversy preceding the fight. For instance, Krajnc once compared Roberto to a fjolla (sissy) and stated that Roberto had better talents in painting female toes, referencing an appearance by Roberto in a Swedish commercial TV-program. It was primarily Roberto's entertainment appearances in television, which Krajnc obviously found unfitting a professional boxer.

Based strictly on his boxing record, Roberto was unlikely to receive a title shot, and the personal animosity contributed to the fight being made. 3 November 2001, the match was held in Kranjc home arena in Germany. [1] The distance between Lübeck and Scania is fairly short, and between 1500 and 2000 Scanian fans had met up in Lübeck, in order to, together with his German supporters, give their best possible support for Krajnc. Roberto, who was well-known from Swedish television, not only for boxing, would rather have met Krajnc in Mariehamn, Åland. But the challenger couldn't choose location of this event. Which in Sweden became a very media covered event (though the ban on professional boxing made it impossible to televise it live).

Against a combination of joined Germans and Scanias supporters, Roberto's worst assumptions regarding the crowd, proved to be true. He was "the crook" - and Krajnc "the hero", only a few Swedish journalists from Stockholm presumably held on Roberto. Surprisingly the challenger, who before this fight had put on a great deal of muscles, took the fight to the cards. Here, however, Kranjc won easily and unanimously, while Aftonbladet columnist Lars Angrell wrote "Why wasn't the assaulting beatings of Paolo Roberto stopped !?". [2] After the match Kranjc was magnanimous towards Roberto at the press conference, and claimed Paolo Roberto as a great boxer. Their enmity ended with the match, and so did the ban on limited professional boxing after a total prohibition over a period of more than 30 years.

In June 2001 Krajnc vacated his WBO title after a dispute with promotional group Universum Box-Promotion, but was later reinstated as champion by the WBO. In 2004 he challenged WBA and IBF Super Middleweight Title holder Sven Ottke but lost a decision.

Life after boxing

Krajnc nowadays lives in Ystad, also in Scania where he teaches boxing to youngsters. He's also competed in the tv-series Mästarnas mästare (Champion of Champions), which he also won. [3]

Professional boxing record

32 fights29 wins3 losses
By knockout211
By decision82
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
32Loss29–3 Flag of Germany.svg Sven Ottke UD1227 Mar 2004 Flag of Germany.svg Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, GermanyFor WBA (Unified) and IBF super-middleweight titles
31Win29–2 Flag of Germany.svg Andy LiebingTKO4 (8)13 Dec 2003 Flag of Germany.svg Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany
30Win28–2 Flag of Hungary.svg Peter ZsilakTKO2 (8), 1:304 Oct 2003 Flag of Germany.svg Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany
29Win27–2 Flag of Portugal.svg Eliseo NogueiraPTS825 Apr 2003 Flag of Germany.svg Maritim Hotel, Magdeburg, Germany
28Loss26–2 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Tatevosyan TKO7 (10), 2:2814 Sep 2002 Flag of Germany.svg Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany
27Loss26–1 Flag of Namibia.svg Harry Simon UD126 Apr 2002 Flag of Denmark.svg Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen, DenmarkLost WBO middleweight title
26Win26–0 Flag of Sweden.svg Paolo Roberto UD123 Nov 2001 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, GermanyRetained WBO middleweight title
25Win25–0 Flag of Albania.svg Artur DrinajKO3 (8), 1:3728 Jul 2001 Flag of Germany.svg Estrel Convention Center, Neukölln, Germany
24Win24–0 Flag of Germany.svg Bert Schenk TKO6 (12), 2:517 Oct 2000 Flag of Germany.svg Estrel Convention Center, Neukölln, GermanyRetained WBO middleweight title
23Win23–0 Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan CornKO2 (12), 1:2911 Mar 2000 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, GermanyRetained WBO middleweight title
22Win22–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jason Matthews TKO8 (12), 1:4527 Nov 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, GermanyWon WBO middleweight title
21Win21–0 Flag of Germany.svg Peter KlugeTKO5 (8)18 Sep 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Germany
20Win20–0 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Michel SimeonKO3 (8)10 Jul 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Sporthalle, Augsburg, Germany
19Win19–0 Flag of Romania.svg Christian VeleaTKO3 (10), 1:2524 Apr 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Circus Krone, Munich, GermanyRetained German International BDB middleweight title
18Win18–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Csaba OlahPTS613 Mar 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
17Win17–0 Flag of the United States.svg James McCrayTKO3 (8)13 Feb 1999 Flag of Germany.svg Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Germany
16Win16–0 Flag of the United States.svg Anthony IvoryPTS828 Nov 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
15Win15–0 Flag of the United States.svg Leroy OwensPTS814 Nov 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Circus Krone, Munich, Germany
14Win14–0 Flag of France.svg Jean Paul D'AlessandroTKO5 (6), 1:5524 Oct 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany
13Win13–0 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Danny DefevereTKO2 (8)2 May 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
12Win12–0 Flag of Albania.svg Bahre AhmetiSD814 Mar 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Sporthalle, Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany
11Win11–0 Flag of Croatia.svg Vedran AkrapPTS1014 Feb 1998 Flag of Germany.svg Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, GermanyWon vacant German International BDB middleweight title
10Win10–0 Flag of France.svg Mimoun KhaddaKO2 (8)20 Dec 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Germany
9Win9–0 Flag of Algeria.svg Djaafar FilaliKO3 (6)11 Oct 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Stadthalle, Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany
8Win8–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Gyorgy MizseiPTS67 Sep 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Universum Gym, Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany
7Win7–0 Flag of Algeria.svg Youssef BakhoucheTKO214 Jun 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Saaltheater Geulen, Aachen, Germany
6Win6–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Stefan MagyarTKO226 Apr 1997 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
5Win5–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Lajos PatkoKO1 (6), 1:348 Mar 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Sartory-Saal, Cologne, Germany
4Win4–0 Flag of Slovakia.svg Gejza StipakTKO111 Jan 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Sport und Erholungszentrum, Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany
3Win3–0 Flag of Slovakia.svg Anton LascekTKO116 Dec 1996 Flag of Germany.svg Universum Gym, Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany
2Win2–0 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Francesco FiorentinoTKO213 Dec 1996 Flag of Germany.svg Stadionsporthalle, Hanover, Germany
1Win1–0 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Ferousi IlungaKO35 Oct 1996 Flag of Germany.svg Sartory-Saal, Cologne, Germany

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References

  1. "Armand Krajnc vs. Paolo Roberto - BoxRec".
  2. Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet 4 November 2001, the pink sport pages
  3. "Mästarnas mästare | SVT.se". Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
Preceded by WBO Middleweight boxing champion
27 Nov 19994 Apr 2002
Succeeded by