Arnold Gjergjaj
Born
Arnold Gjergjaj

(1984-10-08) 8 October 1984
Gjakova, Kosovo
NationalitySwiss
Other namesThe Cobra
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Reach201 cm (79 in)
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins34
Wins by KO25
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]

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

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.
  15. ↑ "Arnold Gjergjaj - Boxer". BoxRec.
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