Luan Krasniqi (born 10 May 1971) is a German actor and former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He held the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

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 ...

title and also challenged for the WBO world heavyweight title.

Background

Krasniqi is the youngest of eight 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. He has often said that he had a happy and active childhood, growing up in

Junik Junik ( sq, Junik, sq-definite, Juniku; sr, Јуник, Junik) is a town located in Junik Municipality in the Gjakova District in western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Junik has 6,053 inhabitants, while the municipality has ...

, a small town in the District of

Deçan Deçan, or Dečani sr-cyr, Дечани ; also in use Dečane sr-cyr, Дечане is a town and municipality in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of has 3,803 inhabitants, while the municipality has 40,019 inhabitants. Geog ...

, where in 1987 he finished his primary and secondary school, before his family moved to

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Krasniqi stated ''"my childhood was good, but when I learned that we would be rejoining my father who had moved to Rottweil in 1970 I was overjoyed. I had dreamt about a move to the city and now it was coming true!"''. Krasniqi graduated in Germany his A-Level and an education as a wholesaler.

Amateur

Krasniqi started boxing at the age of 16. His boxing-career began at the local BSV Rottweil, where he met Theo Kerekesch, a boxing trainer of high regard. Spotting talent and kinship within each other, hard work developed Krasniqi into a solid, well schooled, heavyweight. Once Krasniqi had been granted German citizenship, he entered the Multi-Nations Tournament in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and won the gold medal. He consolidated the success with a gold medal later that year at the German Championships, Berlin. Krasniqi stormed the

1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships The Men's 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany from May 4 to May 15. The eighth edition of this competition, held a year before the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was organised by the ...

, by taking the silver medal beating

Sinan Samil Sam Sinan (Arabic: سنان ''sinān'') is a name found in Arabic and Early Arabic, meaning ''spearhead''. The name may also be related to the Ancient Greek name Sinon. It was used as a male given name. Etymology The word is possibly stems from th ...

and

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол� ...

– losing only to the one of the best amateur boxers of all times, the Cuban great

Félix Savón Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...

. Krasniqi ended the year on a roll, taking the Heavyweight Gold in the International Chemie Cup Tournament, Halle. 1996 he added the European Championships with a win over Christophe Mendy.

1996 Summer Olympics

At the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Atlanta he beat future amateur and professional champion

Ruslan Chagaev Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...

and reached a semi-final bout with

. The semi-final bout against

was short-lived. During the bout, Krasniqi was cut under the eye. The cut would be examined by the ringside doctor & result in a medical stoppage. This left him unable to fight for an Olympic Gold Medal. Krasniqi returned to Germany with the Bronze medal, Germany's first heavyweight medal since

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. ''"I felt that I could have beaten him. He had out-pointed me the previous year but I had grown stronger and developed further since then. I am sure that the fight would have been close but I think that this time, I would have celebrated."'' However, Krasniqi had many memories to savour from Atlanta - one of which was a meeting with his idol,

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

. ''"Muhammad Ali was and still is an idol. Nobody can ever achieve what he achieved. Such a thing is a once in a lifetime phenomenon."'' ''"To shine so long and so brightly, to define eras in history with the sheer force of his ability and personality and to be so well remembered is unique. Meeting him was an honour I shall never forget."'' Krasniqi took his first steps to his own fame as he decided to become famous and to get in at Panix Promotions, where

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

has his contract. 1996 Olympic Results Boxed as a Heavyweight (– 91 kg) *Round 1 - Defeated

(Uzbekistan) 12:4 *Round of 16 - Defeated

Igor Kshinin Igor Ivanovich Kshinin (russian: Игорь Иванович Кшинин; born 13 July 1972 in Volgograd) is a retired male boxer from Russia. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was stopped ...

(Russia) 10:2 *Quarterfinals - Defeated Serguei Dychkov (Belarus) 10:5 *Semifinals - Lost by

(Cuba) WO

Professional career

Krasniqi won his first fight (with Harry Senior. In order to improve his training he was invited to train with Lennox Lewis in Big Bear Lake, where he was in preparation for the fight against

Andrzej Gołota Andrzej Jan Gołota (; born 5 January 1968), best known as Andrew Golota, is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title (by all four major sanctioning bodies), and as ...

. Luan showed that he could resist the pressure of sparring with Lewis. Since then, he has been to Big Bear Lake three times. During Lewis' training for the fights against

Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion, having held the lineal heavyweight championship from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO title from 2006 to 2007. Briggs is known for ...

Željko Mavrović Željko Mavrović (; ; born 17 February 1969) is a Croatian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 1998. In 1998, as an undefeated challenger, he faced Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title, but lost in what would be his fin ...

and

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

he was one of his sparring partners. Luan overcame with success the first hurdles of his career as a "newcomer" in professional boxing. He boxed extremely successfully for Panix Promotion 15 times and in 2000 after Lennox Lewis had terminated his contract, Luan decided to look for a new alternative. In February and April 2000 he built his connections with Universum Box-Promotion and fought a number of matches for them. In January 2001 he signed a three years long contract with Universum Box-Promotion. The highlight of his career was the fight against Rene Monse, when he became European Champion. He was the first German European Champion after 29 years.

First loss

A half year later Krasniqi lost his belt in a fight against

Przemysław Saleta Przemysław Saleta (born 7 March 1968) is a Polish professional boxer, as well as a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Achievements Kickboxing: *1990 W.A.K.O. World Championships in Madrid, Spain -91 kg (Full-Contact) *1990 W. ...

. The man from Rottweil was prepared for eight rounds. But after an injury of

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Sinan Samil Sam Sinan (Arabic: سنان ''sinān'') is a name found in Arabic and Early Arabic, meaning ''spearhead''. The name may also be related to the Ancient Greek name Sinon. It was used as a male given name. Etymology The word is possibly stems from th ...

and became European Champion once again.

Later career

2005 brought Krasniqi to the top of the heavyweight competition after he knocked out highly regarded

Lance Whitaker Lance Whitaker (born May 29, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur in the super heavyweight division, he won a bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games. Nicknamed "Mount", or more recently "Goofi", Whitaker was known ...

and became a

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...

for the WBO crown. He lost against

Lamon Brewster Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout victory over Wladimir Klitsc ...

. Brewster managed to efficiently attack Krasniqi's body. This resulted in Krasniqi fatiguing in the latter rounds and finally being forced into a punch-exchange and getting knocked down in round 9. It was a disappointing loss to a lot of German and Albanian fans, since the resurrection of a new German heavyweight champion was highly anticipated to occur on

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...

's 100th birthday. Luan's next fight took place on 29 April 2006 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

where he won against

David Bostice David Bostice (born April 3, 1972, in Los Angeles, California) is an American retired heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Boss", Bostice is known for being a regular fighter on ESPN fight cards, and is a heavyweight clubfighter who fought several ...

. Luan Krasniqi was scheduled to fight against Top 10 contender, Tony Thompson, in September 2006, but no contract was made. Krasniqi has stated that the money offered by his promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl was insufficient. On 17 March 2007, Krasniqi fought

Brian Minto Brian Matthew Minto (born January 27, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2016. He challenged once for the WBO cruiserweight title in 2010. Professional career Minto turned pro in 2002 and won his first 8 ...

for the title of WBO Intercontinental Champion. Despite having a height disadvantage of 4 inches (10 cm), Minto was able to hold his own against Krasniqi. However, in the 12th round Krasniqi was able to knock Minto down and win the match. It was later stated that it was Krasniqi's tactic to tire his adversary. This won Luan Krasniqi the title of Intercontinental Champion and has given him the possibility of a fight against

. Kransiqi lost to Tony Thompson, putting a serious dent in his hopes at a future title shot. On 11 November 2008, he lost by a third-round knockout to unbeaten

Alexander Dimitrenko Alexander Viktorovych "Sascha" Dimitrenko ( uk, Олександр Вікторович Димитренко; born 5 July 1982) is a Ukrainian-born German former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019, and held the European heavyweight ...

Personal life

He is currently an actor. Prior to his boxing success, Krasniqi worked in wholesale and foreign trade. Luan Krasniqi's two boxing idols are

and

Accomplishments

German Heavyweight Champion 2001-2002

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...

Heavyweight Champion 2002, 2004–2005 WBO Intercontinental Champion 2007.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 30 Wins (14 knockouts, 16 decisions), 4 Losses (4 knockouts, 0 decisions), 1 Draw , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , , align=left,

, KO , 3 , 15/11/2008 , align=left,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Tony Thompson , TKO , 5 , 14/07/2007 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 17/03/2007 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

, UD , 10 , 29/04/2006 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

, TKO , 9 , 28/09/2005 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

, KO , 6 , 28/05/2005 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left,

Timo Hoffmann Timo Hoffmann (born 25 September 1974) is a German professional boxer and multiple-time European heavyweight title challenger. He is perhaps best known as being the only fighter for nearly a decade (from 2000 to 2009) to have gone the full dista ...

, PTS , 12 , 04/12/2004 , align=left,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rene Monse , TKO , 7 , 31/07/2004 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Sinan Şamil Sam Sinan Şamil Sam (23 June 1974 – 30 October 2015) was a Turkish heavyweight professional boxer( Azerbaijani origin). As a professional boxer, Sam won the EBU,WBC international and WBC Mediterranean titles in the heavyweight division. Accordi ...

, UD , 12 , 14/02/2004 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Julius Francis Julius Francis (born 8 December 1964) is a British former professional boxer who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the mid 90s and 2000s. In 2007, he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout, having been a former European ...

, UD , 8 , 18/10/2003 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Doug Liggion , UD , 8 , 30/08/2003 , align=left,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

, TKO , 1 , 26/04/2003 , align=left,

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Sedreck Fields , UD , 8 , 08/02/2003 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Thomas Williams , KO , 1 , 23/11/2002 , align=left,

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

, TKO , 9 , 20/07/2002 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rene Monse , MD , 12 , 05/01/2002 , align=left,

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Yuriy Yelistratov , TKO , 3 , 29/09/2001 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rene Hanl , TKO , 2 , 21/07/2001 , align=left,

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Paul Phillips , KO , 1 , 07/04/2001 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Cleveland Woods , KO , 3 , 24/02/2001 , align=left,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rodney McSwain , TKO , 4 , 27/05/2000 , align=left,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Antoine Palatis , PTS , 6 , 01/04/2000 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Everett Martin , PTS , 8 , 19/02/2000 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Michael Murray , PTS , 8 , 18/12/1999 , align=left,

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Alexey Osokin , TKO , 3 , 16/10/1999 , align=left,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Biko Botowamungu Ikomoniya "Biko" Botowamungu (born 22 January 1957) is a former boxer from Austria. Born in Stanleyville, Belgian Congo, he competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea in the super-heavyweight (+ 91 kg) division where he was def ...

, DQ , 5 , 21/08/1999 , align=left,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ladislav Husarik , PTS , 6 , 27/03/1999 , align=left,

, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Shane Woollas , TKO , 3 , 26/09/1998 , align=left,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Abdelrani Berbachi , PTS , 6 , 02/05/1998 , align=left,

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Spas Spasov , PTS , 6 , 28/03/1998 , align=left,

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Stefan Trendafilov , TKO , 1 , 14/02/1998 , align=left,

, England , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Phillipe Houyvet , TKO , 4 , 16/12/1997 , align=left, Nord, France , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lewan Livingstone , UD , 4 , 02/11/1997 , align=left, Halle, Germany , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Kevin Hudson , TKO , 4 , 04/10/1997 , align=left,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, U.S. , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Harry Senior , PTS , 4 , 02/09/1997 , align=left,

, England , align=left,

Television viewership

Germany

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krasniqi, Luan 1971 births Living people People from the District of Gjakova Olympic boxers of Germany Heavyweight boxers Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Yugoslav emigrants to Germany Kosovan emigrants to Germany German people of Albanian descent German people of Kosovan descent European Boxing Union champions German male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Albanian male boxers