Besim Kabashi (February 27, 1976 – December 4, 2011) was a Kosovar-German

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

who competed in the

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

, cruiserweight and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

divisions. He began his training in Germany after emigrating from

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and initially competed as a -79 kg/174 lb fighter before moving up through the weight classes until eventually reaching heavyweight. After stints as a German and European champion, Kabashi won the WKA World Heavyweight Muay Thai title in 2008 which he held until his death in December 2011.

Early life

Kabashi was born in 1976 as the youngest of seven children to

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

parents near

Istok Istog or Istok ( sq-definite, Istog, Istogu, sr, Исток, ''Istok'') or Burim is a town and municipality located in the District of Peja of western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the city of Istog has 5,115 inhabitants, while the munici ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and moved to Munich, Germany at age 14. He competed in athletics, football and swimming as a youngster before he began kickboxing at age 17.

Career

After successful careers in amateur boxing and kickboxing, Kabashi turned professional in 1997 and won the WKA German Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship in his debut year. The following year her won the WKA German Super Light Heavyweight (-83.2 kg/183 lb) Championship. Despite a promising start to his career, Kabashi would then retire from the sport in 2002 following a disagreement with his trainer. Kabashi returned to the ring in 2006, weighing in at 102 kg/224 lb. His transition to heavyweight saw him have success almost immediately as he

knocked out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

Zoran Dorcic in round two to become the WKA European Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Champion in 2007. He then won the WKA World Heavyweight (-95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai belt on December 13, 2008 when he defeated Yahya Gülay by fourth round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. Kabashi defended this title seven times over the next three years against the likes of David Dancrade and

Petr Vondráček Petr Vondráček (born 18 May 1977) is a heavyweight kickboxer. He is a former WKA World Champion. Biography Vondráček began martial arts at the age of 14. At the instigation of his mother, he entered a school of Shotokan Karate. Then he went ...

before his untimely death in December 2011.

Death

Kabashi was found dead in his apartment in Munich, Germany on Sunday December 4, 2011.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Howa ...

**WKA German Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) Championship **WKA German Super Light Heavyweight (-83.2 kg/183 lb) Championship **WKA European Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Championship **WKA World Heavyweight (-95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai Championship

Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-05-28 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Steko's Fight Night , ,

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, , TKO (punches) , , 4 , , 1:27 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-12-04 , , Win , , align=left, Mehmet Özer , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , TKO (punches) , , 3 , , 1:44 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-09-25 , , Win , , align=left, Luca Panto , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , KO (punches) , , 1 , , 2:07 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2010-03-20 , , Win , , align=left, Andrei Manzolo , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , DQ (Manzolo could not recover from a low blow) , , 2 , , 2:17 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2009-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Li Jixiang , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , TKO (right hook) , , 4 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2009-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, John Love , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , KO (right cross) , , 2 , , 0:59 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2009-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, David Dancrade , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , DQ (Dancrade struck the referee) , , 2 , , 2:08 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2008-12-13 , , Win , , align=left, Yahya Gülay , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , TKO (knees and punches) , , 4 , , 2:27 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2008-00-00 , , Win , , align=left,

Corentin Jallon Corentin Jallon is an Algerian- French Kickboxer. He is the former World Kickboxing Network (WKN) Cruiserweight World Champion as well as the Muaythai & K-1 FFSCDA France -91kg Champion, King of the Ring -91kg Champion and he has competed in S ...

, , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2007-09-15 , , Win , , align=left, Lazar Tomić , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2007-00-00 , , Win , , align=left, Zoran Dorčić , , Steko's Fight Night , ,

, , KO (right cross) , , 2 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabashi, Besim 1976 births 2011 deaths German male kickboxers Light heavyweight kickboxers Cruiserweight kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Albanian Muay Thai practitioners German Muay Thai practitioners People from Istog Sportspeople from Munich Kosovo Albanians Kosovan emigrants to Germany Drug-related deaths in Germany Sportspeople from Peja