Ștefan Lătescu (; born 25 December 2001) is a Romanian professional

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

and

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, and former

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

and kempo practitioner, currently signed to GLORY. A former amateur in two sports, Lătescu notched over 150 wins in amateur kickboxing, and is the youngest senior heavyweight champion in the amateur boxing history of Romania. He is still undefeated nationally in boxing. As of 1 May 2025, Lătescu is ranked the #6 light-heavyweight in the world.

Professional kickboxing career

DFS

Lătescu made his professional debut against Eugen Mailat at DFS 7 on March 5, 2020. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Lătescu was placed in the

Dynamite Fighting Show The Dynamite Fighting Show (DFS) is a Romanian kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing, kyokushin and taekwondo promotion company based in Bucharest, Romania, which is owned by veteran heavyweight star Cătălin Moroșanu. It is ...

Heavyweight tournament immediately afterwards, as he was booked to face Ionuț Iancu in the quarterfinals of the one-day tournament, which took place at DFS 8 on August 20, 2020. He lost the fight by split decision. Lătescu bounced back from his first professional loss with a unanimous decision win over Florin Ivănoaie at DFS 9 on December 4, 2020. Lătescu next faced Marius Munteanu at DFS 10 on March 10, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Lătescu would go on to notch two more victories prior to fighting for his first professional title, as he overcame

Dževad Poturak Dževad Poturak (born September 20, 1977) is a Bosnian heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Jumruk Gym in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is the former WAKO Pro World Low-Kick champion and K-1 Fighting Network Prague 2007 tournament cham ...

by unanimous decision at DFS 11 on June 4, 2021, and

Konstantin Gluhov Konstantin Gluhov (, ; born January 17, 1980) is a Latvian heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Russian descent. He is a former WPKA World Muaythai champion, currently competing in K-1. He made his K-1 debut in 2006 at K-1 Fighti ...

by unanimous decision at DFS 12 on September 22, 2021. His four fight win streak earned Lătescu the chance to face Ionuț Iancu for the vacant DFS Heavyweight Championship at DFS 13 on December 15, 2021. He lost the rematch by a second-round technical knockout, as he was knocked down three times by the two minute mark of the round. Lătescu made his Senshi debut against Olivier Langlois-Ross at Senshi 12 on July 9, 2022. He won the fight by a third-round knockout. Lătescu next faced Jakob Styben at Senshi 13 in September 2022. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Lătescu returned to Dynamite Fighting Show in order to face Sam Tevette at DFS 14 on October 19, 2022. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.

K-1

Lătescu made his

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

debut against the 2022 K-1 World GP Japan Openweight Tournament winner

Mahmoud Sattari Mahmoud Sattari ( born 22 February 1991) is an Iranian Muay Thai kickboxer. Sattari is currently under contract with the K-1 Organization. As of June 2022 he was the #9 ranked Light Heavyweight kickboxer in the world by Combat Press. Biography ...

at K-1 World GP 2022 in Osaka on December 3, 2022. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Following this victory, Lătescu was ranked as the eighth-best light heavyweight kickboxer in the world by Beyond Kickboxing. Lătescu faced the 2022 K-1 Japan Openweight Grand Prix finalist Seiya Tanigawa at K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 on March 12, 2023. He won the fight via KO in the second round. Lătescu faced Adam Kosut at DFS 19 on May 13, 2023. He won the fight by a second-round knockout. Lătescu faced the former

Krush Krush were a UK dance music group, who had a crossover hit single with "House Arrest" in 1987. Career The group consisted of musicians Mark Gamble, Cassius Campbell and record producers Mark Brydon and Robert Gordon. Ruth Joy was the featured ...

and

cruiserweight champion

K-Jee "K-Jee" is a 1971 instrumental song by American soul and funk band the Nite-Liters. Written by Harvey Fuqua and Charlie Hearndon, it charted in 1971 at No. 17 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart. It spent 16 weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

at K-1 World GP 2023 on July 17, 2023. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.

GLORY

Lătescu made his promotional Glory debut against

Pascal Touré Pascal Touré (born October 27, 1995) is a French Muay Thai kickboxer. As of April 2023, Touré was the #10 ranked light heavyweight kickboxer in the world according to Combat Press. Martial arts career Early career On March 16, 2019, Touré fa ...

at Glory 88 on September 9, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Lătescu faced

Ibrahim El Bouni Ibrahim El Bouni (born 9 December 1992) is a Dutch-Moroccan kickboxer who currently fights for Glory. El Bouni has formerly competed for ONE Championship, SUPERKOMBAT and K-1. As of August 21, 2024, he is #5 in the GLORY light-heavyweight ranki ...

in a light heavyweight title eliminator at Glory: Collision 6 on November 4, 2023. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Lătescu faced

Donegi Abena Donegi Abena (born February 23, 1998) is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place ...

in the quarterfinals of the Glory Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, held on June 8, 2024, in

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. He lost the fight due to leg kicks in the third round. Lătescu was expected to face

Bahram Rajabzadeh Bahram Rajabzadeh (, born August 3, 1991) is an Azerbaijani kickboxer and coach who was born in Iran but represents Azerbaijan. He is currently signed with GLORY. Background and career Bahram Rajabzadeh was born in 1991 in Urmia, Iran . He s ...

at Glory 94 on August 31, 2024. He was later rescheduled to face Cem Cáceres. Lătescu lost the fight by a first-round knockout. Lătescu faced

Sergej Maslobojev Sergej Maslobojev (born 22 May 1987) is a Lithuanians, Lithuanian mixed martial artist, Boxer (boxing), boxer and kickboxer, currently signed with Glory (kickboxing), GLORY, where he is the current Glory (kickboxing)#Glory Light Heavyweight Cham ...

at Glory Collision 7 on December 7, 2024. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Lătescu faced Michael Boapeah at Glory Underground on May 1, 2025. He lost the fight by a second-round technical knockout.

Championships and accomplishments

Olympic-style boxing

* Romania Senior National Championship (2020, 2021, 2022) * Romania Youth National Championship (2018, 2019) * Romania Junior National Championship (2016, 2017) * Romania Cadet National Championship (2015) * Romanian Youth Cup (2018, 2019)

Kempo

* Romanian Kempo Federation **Romania Youth National Championship (2017)

Kickboxing

* Glory **2023 Newcomer of the Year *

**2023 Best Global Performance **2023 Knockout of the Year vs. Adam Kosut **2022 Fighter of the Year **2022 Knockout of the Year vs. Sam Tevette **2021 Rising Star of the Year **Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Ionuț Iancu **2019 Tellur Cup Winner *

**Knockout of the Night (One time) * Senshi **Knockout of the Night (One time) * FRFK/ FRAMC **Romania Junior National Championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) *

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches. It is based in the United States. It was est ...

**2019 ISKA Amateur Members Association World Championships Junior Gold Medalist *Whowillwinfighting **2023 Fighter of the Year *Kickboxing Romania Awards **2023 Fighter of the Year **2023 International Fighter of the Year **2023 Performance of the Year vs.

**2024 Upset of the Year vs. Cem Cáceres

Muay Thai

*World Muay Federation **2017 WMF World Muaythai Championships Junior Silver Medalist *European Muay Confederation **2017 EMC European Muaythai Championships Junior Gold Medalist **2016 EMC European Muaythai Championships Junior Gold Medalist **2015 EMC European Muaythai Championships Junior Gold Medalist

Professional kickboxing record

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USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

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Ionuț Iancu Ionuț Alin Iancu (born 16 November 1998) is a Romanian professional kickboxer, boxer and kempo practitioner. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of GLORY. He is the former DFS Heavyweight Champion. As of 1 May 2025, Iancu is ran ...

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Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

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Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latescu, Stefan 2001 births Living people Sportspeople from Iași Romanian male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Cruiserweight kickboxers Romanian male boxers Heavyweight boxers Romanian Muay Thai practitioners Kenpō 21st-century Romanian sportsmen