The boxing world has been taken aback by the untimely death of Besar Nimani. The 38-year-old Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo-born light middleweight who has been living in Germany since 1997, was shot dead on Saturday night. Per the available reports, the shocking incident took place in an open street in Bielefeld, Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia.
Besar Nimani came to Germany as an Albanian refugee. Citing leading German newspaper Bild, Marca shared that the shooting happened when the boxer stepped out of a restaurant. Eyewitness accounts, it seems, reported hearing ten gunshots. Law enforcement seems to have kicked off an investigation besides launching a manhunt for the alleged perpetrator(s).
Besar Nimani: An Outline of the Former Champion’s Boxing Career
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
TMZ also shared the news through its Instagram handle. The post read, “#BREAKING: Besar Nimani, a former boxing champion with only one loss in his career, was shot to death outside a restaurant in Germany. All we know at the in our bio.”
View this post on Instagram
There remains a lack of information regarding the amateur stint of Besar Nimani. The Kosovar-German boxer, however, turned professional in 2011. On February 12 of that year, he scored a knockout victory over Thomas Freitag during his debut fight. That year alone, including the career-first bout, he participated in nine matches, winning all but one through early stoppages.
The following year, a win over Almin Kovacevic on May 26 made him the German Boxing Federation’s international light middleweight champion. A few months later, he knocked out Sandor Micsko to take home the vacant IBF European light middleweight belt. Besar Nimani continued his winning streak for the next two years. Then, on May 31, he knocked out Brazilian Mike Miranda and became the IBF international super welterweight champion.
Next year, on April 11, 2015, Besar Nimani suffered his lone career loss at the hands of the Frenchman Frank Haroche. But two months later, he recovered and scored a knockout victory over Peter Orlik.
For the next four years, Besar Nimani fought six times, stopping his opponents early in the fights. On December 14, 2019, he fought his last professional battle against Adnan Cilic from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nimani won the match via technical knockout.
Besar Nimani’s boxing record stood at 27 wins against a single loss, with 22 victories scored through knockouts. His overall knockout-to-win rate was 85%.
On a personal note…
Taking to his X/Twitter account, Besar Nimani’s brother Berati Nimani reportedly wrote, “My brother Besar Nimani was killed today in an ambush in Bielefeld, Germany. May God join us in heaven with him. I will forever be proud of you, I love you.”
IBF International Champion Besar Nimani pic.twitter.com/FlQjCvlCIu
— Berat Nimani (@NimaniBerat) March 5, 2018
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Reportedly, it wouldn’t be the first time someone shot at the former champion. Nearly a decade ago, in 2013, Besar Nimani scraped through a shooting incident. Nevertheless, it seems, per available accounts, it is too early to establish a link between the two events. Not much information (credible) is available regarding the departed boxer’s family or other details, such as his financial position.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
You may share your thoughts and views in the comments below.