Arnold Gjergjaj

Last updated
Arnold Gjergjaj
Born
Arnold Gjergjaj

(1984-10-08) 8 October 1984 (age 40)
Gjakova, Kosovo
NationalitySwiss
Other namesThe Cobra
Statistics
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Reach201 cm (79 in)
Boxing record
Total fights41
Wins38
Wins by KO27
Losses3

Arnold Gjergjaj (born 8 October 1984) is a Swiss professional boxer. [1] In 2014 he won the EBU-EE version of the European heavyweight title, becoming the first boxer fighting under a Swiss license to do so. [2]

Contents

Boxing career

Gjergjaj began as a wrestler from a young age and later moved to kickboxing before taking up boxing. A three-time Swiss amateur champion, [3] he turned professional at the age of 25 and made his debut in 2009. For the majority of his career he has fought low level opposition in Switzerland, building up an undefeated record of 29-0 with 21 knockouts.

Gjergjaj is trained by Angelo Gallina, who is also his manager. [3] He has trained with world champions such as Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury and other top fighters as a sparring partner. He also learned in training sessions under the now deceased legendary German boxing coach Fritz Sdunek. He cites British former undisputed heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis as his boxing idol. Gjergjaj won the EBU-EE European heavyweight title in October 2014, beating Adnan Redzovic by a knockout in the 9th round. [4] He defended his title against Denis Bakhtov in June 2015, winning on points despite suffering a broken hand and burst eardrum, and being knocked down in the fifth round for the first time in his career. [5]

On 30 March 2016, it was announced that Gjergjaj would be the second opponent of former champion David Haye since Haye made his return to boxing after a three-year layoff. The fight, which was the biggest of Gjergjaj career to date, took place at The O2 Arena in London on 21 May 2016. [6] Haye received criticism from some fans for picking a second relatively unknown and moderately ranked opponent. [7] However, Gjergjaj was ranked 24th in the world on the independent platform Boxrec before the match with Haye, and at no. 8 in Europe by the EBU. [8] Haye stopped Gjergjaj in the second round via TKO, after having put him on the canvas three times before the referee stopped the fight. [9] [10]

Personal life

Gjergjaj was born in Gjakova, Kosovo and he moved to Pratteln, Basel in Switzerland with his family when he was 14 years old. [11] After graduating from school he trained as a heating engineer. [11] Gjergjaj married his wife Marta in August 2014 in Pratteln. [12] He has been involved in fields such as developmental aid organization Terre des Hommes Switzerland and has shown commitment to helping the youth in his hometown, where he opened his own boxing club "Arnold Boxfit" on 23 January 2016. [13] [14]

Professional boxing record

41 fights38 wins3 losses
By knockout272
By decision101
By disqualification10
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
41Win38–3Dennis LewandowskiUD1027 Apr 2024Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
40Win37–3Bilal LaggouneSD122 Sep 2023Landgasthof, Riehen, SwitzerlandWon vacant WBF heavyweight title
39Win36–3Kristaps ZutisKO4 (10), 2:0024 Jun 2023Airporthotel, Basel, SwitzerlandRetained WBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
38Win35–3Dominic VialTKO2 (10), 2:3425 Mar 2023Grand Casino, Basel, SwitzerlandWon vacant WBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title
37Win34–3Tomislav SenticTKO1 (6), 1:5210 Jun 2022Stadthofsaal, Uster, Switzerland
36Win33–3Elvis MoyoUD825 May 2019Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland
35Loss32–3Umut CamkiranUD1219 Apr 2019Silence Hotel, Istanbul, TurkeyLost External heavyweight title
34Win32–2Mirko TintorKO4 (8), 1:5915 Dec 2018Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
33Win31–2Gogita GorgiladzeKO2 (8), 1:121 Sep 2018Kultur und Sportzentrum (Kuspo), Pratteln, Switzerland
32Loss30–2Sean TurnerKO8 (8), 1:459 Dec 2017Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
31Win30–1 Jasmin Hasic TKO5 (8), 1:0017 Dec 2016Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
30Loss29–1 David Haye TKO2 (10), 1:3521 May 2016 The O2 Arena, London, England
29Win29–0Marino GolesTKO1 (8), 0:455 Dec 2015Umweltarena, Spreitenbach, Switzerland
28Win28–0 Denis Bakhtov UD126 Jun 2015St. Jakob Halle, Basel, SwitzerlandRetained External heavyweight title
27Win27–0Zoltan CsalaUD827 Feb 2015Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
26Win26–0Adnan RedzovicKO9 (12), 2:504 Oct 2014St. Jakob Halle, Basel, SwitzerlandWon vacant External heavyweight title
25Win25–0Tibor BaloghTKO2 (8), 2:209 Jun 2014Seminar Hotel Lueg, Kaltacker, Burgdorf, Switzerland
24Win24–0Emilio ZarateKO7 (8)15 Mar 2014Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
23Win23–0Gilberto DomingosTKO1 (8), 2:1526 Dec 2013Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland
22Win22–0Nelson DominguezKO3 (8), 2:1911 May 2013Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
21Win21–0 Janne Katajisto KO3 (8), 0:2023 Mar 2013Volkshaus, Basel, Switzerland
20Win20–0Yury BykhautsouTKO3 (8), 2:1026 Dec 2012Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland
19Win19–0Maksym PedyuraTKO2 (8), 2:501 Dec 2012Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
18Win18–0Mateusz MalujdaTKO1 (8), 2:0320 Oct 2012Markthalle, Basel, Switzerland
17Win17–0Alexander KahlKO1 (6), 1:1815 Sep 2012Grand Casino, Basel, Switzerland
16Win16–0Adnan BuharalijaTKO3 (8), 1:5014 Apr 2012Pfaffenholzturnhalle, Basel, Switzerland
15Win15–0Prince Anthony IkejiKO2 (8), 1:3817 Dec 2011Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
14Win14–0Laszlo TothKO3 (8)12 Nov 2011City Sporthall, Szekszárd, Hungary
13Win13–0Gabor FarkasUD81 Oct 2011Turnhalle Landstrasse, Gebenstorf, Switzerland
12Win12–0Ferenc ZsalekDQ6 (8), 1:5020 Aug 2011Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland
11Win11–0Igoris BoruchaUD628 May 2011Sporthalle Badbetrieb, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
10Win10–0Liviu UngureanuTKO3 (6), 2:577 May 2011Salle Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland
9Win9–0Pavels DolgovsUD65 Feb 2011Turnhalle Eg, Frenkendorf, Switzerland
8Win8–0Tomasz ZeprzalkaTKO5 (6), 2:4018 Dec 2010Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
7Win7–0Dimitar StoimenovUD618 Jul 2010Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
6Win6–0Gabor FarkasTKO3 (6)29 May 2010Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland
5Win5–0Norbert SallaiTKO4 (6), 2:2517 Apr 2010Airporthotel, Basel, Switzerland
4Win4–0Yavor MarinchevUD626 Mar 2010Palestra Nuova, Ascona, Switzerland
3Win3–0Sandor BaloghTKO6 (6), 2:3019 Dec 2009Kaserne, Basel, Switzerland
2Win2–0Zoltan HuffnerKO1 (6), 2:305 Dec 2009Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland
1Win1–0Dariusz BallaTKO2 (4), 1:0129 Aug 2009Römertheater, Augusta Raurica, Augst, Switzerland

References

  1. ↑ "BoxRec - Arnold Gjergjaj". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  2. ↑ "Arnold Gjergjaj, Page 1 - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  3. 1 2 Coviello, Michele (27 February 2015). "Grosser Mann, kleine Schritte". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Gisi, Emanuel (5 October 2014). "Basler "Kobra" ist Europameister!". Blick (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Oppliger, Matthias (7 June 2016). "Hand gebrochen, Trommelfell geplatzt: Gjergjaj bleibt trotzdem Europameister". Tages Woche (in German). Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Robinson, Isaac (30 March 2016). "David Haye to face Arnold 'The Cobra' Gjergjaj on May 21". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  7. ↑ "David Haye to fight unknown Kosovan Arnold Gjergjaj". BBC Sport. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  8. ↑ "EBU Ratings March 2016", European Boxing Union. Retrieved 23 April 2016
  9. ↑ Soland, Fabian; Sommerhalder, Rainer (22 May 2016). "K.o. in Runde zwei: Arnold Gjergjaj gegen Ex-Weltmeister David Haye chancenlos". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Nakrani, Sachin (22 May 2016). "David Haye unleashes force and fury to demolish Arnold Gjergjaj". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. 1 2 Dutler, Alex (1 June 2015). "Arnold "The Cobra" Gjergjaj - Europameister mit 7-Tage-Woche". bz Basel (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Die Kobra ist unter der Haube: Der Prattler Arnold Gjergjaj hat geheiratet". bz Basel (in German). 6 August 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Halbeisen, Fabio (21 January 2016). "Arnold Gjergjaj: "The Cobra" eröffnet Boxclub". Telebasel (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Heckel, Alan (25 January 2016). ""Arnold Boxfit": Die Kobra schlägt im Wohnviertel zu". bz Basel (in German). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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