Azem Maksutaj

Azem Maksutaj
Born July 8, 1975
Dečani, SAP Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia
Other names The Black Eagle
The Warrior
Nationality Swiss
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb; 14.8 st)
Division Lightweight
Welterweight
Middleweight
Super Middleweight
Light Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Heavyweight
Style Kickboxing • Muay Thai
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Winterthur, Switzerland
Team Wing Thai Gym
Trainer Rohy Batliwala
Years active 1992–2010
Kickboxing record
Total 100
Wins 76
By knockout 57
Losses 22
By knockout 7
Draws 2
Other information
Website www.azem.ch

Azem Maksutaj[a] (born July 8, 1975) is an Albanian-Swiss former kickboxer who competed in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. He originates from Kosovo[b] but relocated to Switzerland at an early age where he began training in Muay Thai at fifteen. After capturing the Swiss national title at lightweight during his first year of competition in 1992, he then went on to win European and world honours 1994 while fighting around the 77 kg/170 lb super middleweight mark. The late 1990s saw Maksutaj move between light heavyweight and cruiserweight, taking five world titles in those divisions, before eventually making the jump to heavyweight in 2001 where he spent the remainder of his career, acting as a journeyman in the K-1 promotion while also winning another four world titles.

Despite spending much of his career as an under-sized heavyweight, Maksutaj was known for his toughness as well as his technical skill. He won a total of fourteen world titles in various weight divisions before retiring in 2010 with a hundred professional contests under his belt.

Early life

Maksutaj, a Kosovar Albanian, was born the second of four children in Dečani, SFR Yugoslavia (now Kosovo) in 1975. His father moved to Switzerland as a guest worker in the late 1970s and so he saw his father only sparingly while growing up. In 1990, at the age of fifteen, Azem and the rest of his family joined up with his father in Winterthur, Switzerland during the wave of Yugoslav immigration to the country. Unable to speak the language and struggling to integrate, Maksutaj soon began training in Muay Thai at the Wing Thai Gym as a way to escape his troubles.[1]

Career

Career beginnings (1992–1997)

After just twelve months of training and his first year of competition, Maksutaj won the Swiss national Muay Thai title at 63.5 kg/140 lb in 1992 by beating the eleven-year-older Jesus Perez by knockout in the second round.[1]

Still just eighteen years old, he knocked out Thomas Rasmussen of Sweden on May 7, 1994 to win the European -72.5 kg/159 lb Muay Thai title in his home town of Winterthur, before travelling to Milan, Italy later that year and defeating local fighter Sergio Bertalozzi by fifth round KO to win the WMTA World Middleweight (-76.2 kg/168 lb) Championship.[1] He lost his world title to Perry Ubeda the following year when he visited the canvas three times in the first round in Nijmegen, Netherlands on March 19, 1995.[2]

As a rising star of Swiss kickboxing, Maksutaj was invited to fight at K-1 Fight Night, the first ever event held by the K-1 promotion outside of Japan, on June 10, 1995 in Zurich, Switzerland where he lost to Surinamese veteran Orlando Wiet via a second round KO.[3] Returning to K-1 a year later at K-1 Fight Night II on June 2, 1996, he gave a "Fight of the Night" performance in a losing effort against Seido karate stylist Taiei Kin. He was knocked down in round two and lost by a unanimous decision after a five round war.[1] Despite failing to earn a victory on kickboxing's biggest stage, he continued to improve and ended that year's campaign with a knockout of Faizal Reding on November 2, 1996 in Zurich to take the ISKA World Super Middleweight (78.1 kg/172 lb) strap.[3]

Dominance at light heavyweight and cruiserweight (1998–2000)

He made the first defence of his ISKA world title against Moussa Sissoko, stopping the Frenchman inside three rounds in Winterthur on November 7, 1998.[3] Following this, Maksutaj began to move up in weight to the light heavyweight class and established himself as one of the division's elite by making a successful return to K-1 and then winning three world titles in the space of five months in 1999. After his comeback to K-1 on June 5, 1999 at K-1 Fight Night '99 where he earned his first victory in the promotion by flooring Winston Walker three times in the third round en route to a technical knockout win, he headed to Pula, Croatia a month later to challenge double world champion Igor Ivošević. He was able to knock his opponent out in round four and came away with both the WAKO Pro World Light Heavyweight (81.4 kg/179 lb) and the WKA World Super Light Heavyweight (83.2 kg/183 lb) belts.[1] Maksutaj then closed the year out with a fifth world championship win, outpointing his Surinamese foe Ashwin Balrak for the World Professional Kickboxing League (WPKL) World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) title in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 11, 1999.[3]

At the beginning the new millennium, Maksutaj moved briefly back down to super middleweight to successfully challenge for the WKA World Super Middleweight (-76 kg/167 lb) Championship, winning on points over Ivica Sukošić in Pristina in his birth country of Kosovo.[3] He would then return to light heavyweight and KO Aurélien Duarte in a World Professional Kickboxing Council (WPKC) World Light Heavyweight (-79 kg/174 lb) title bout in Pavia, Italy before moving up in weight once again to cruiserweight where he knocked out Eddy Corremans in round three to be crowned the WPKC World Cruiserweight (-86 kg/189 lb) Champion in Winterthur.[3] A rematch between Azem Maksutaj and Faizal Reding took place at K-1 Fight Night 2000 on June 3, 2000 and the Albanian came out on top again by way of TKO in round two.[3]

Heavyweight division (2001–2010)

2001 saw Maksutaj make the transition to the heavyweight division, kicking off his career at the weight by winning the WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai Championship. Following this up with a defence of his WPKC Cruiserweight title against Hubert Lisovski in Winterthur,[3] he then earned the biggest victory of his career at that point when he dismantled Canada's Clifton Brown inside one round in front of over 100,000 spectators at the 2001 edition of the King's Cup at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand on December 6, 2001.[1]

He would go on to compete in eight one-night tournaments in K-1's heavyweight division over the next five years and made his debut in the Grand Prix format at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Marseilles on January 25, 2002. Having scored two quick first round KOs over Abdel Lamidi and Ferenc Gasztany, respectively, in the run-up, Maksutaj lost a majority decision to Gregory Tony in the final.[3] On April 13, 2002, Maksutaj rematched Vitali Akhramenko at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary Croatia in Zagreb. The pair had previously fought to a draw five years earlier and did so again as the judges could not pick a winner after five rounds. He was granted a chance at revenge against Gregory Tony the following month at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Paris, but the tall Frenchman came out on top once again by winning a five round majority decision.[3] The fight was close but Tony was able to floor Maksutaj with a right hand late in the final round to seal the deal. Outside of K-1, Maksutaj picked up the WKA World Cruiserweight (-85.9 kg/189 lb) belt from Chino Mordillo in Zurich. He forced two standing eight counts on the Spaniard, initially by damaging his arm with a blocked roundhouse kick, before finishing him off with a high kick in round two.[3] He would finish the year on a low note, however, as he was handed his first stoppage loss in seven years by Peter Varga in Padua, Italy on November 30, 2002 to lose his WPKC Super Heavyweight Muay Thai strap.

Maksutaj returned to Marseille to compete in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary France on January 24, 2003. He KO'd Rob Lloyd in the quarter-finals and outpointed Miloš Koptak in the semis, before losing by unanimous decision to his rival Gregory Tony for the third time in the final.[3] With K-1 heading back to Switzerland with the K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Basel tournament on May 30, 2003, Azem Maksutaj was invited as a participant along with seven other European heavyweight prospects. He was unable to impress in front of his home crowd, however, as he dropped a decision at the hands of Larry Lindwall at the opening stage.[1] In his next outing a month later, Maksutaj fought outside Europe for the first time as he lost a unanimous judges' decision to Shingo Koyasu at K-1 Beast II 2003 in Saitama, Japan on June 29, 2003.[3] Breaking a three fight losing streak, he defeated Hungarian journeyman Tihamér Brunner by decision on December 13, 2003 for the WMTA World Super Heavyweight title in a victorious homecoming to Winterthur.[3]

Fighting at the annual Marseille K-1 qualifier for the third year running, Maksutaj went to-to-toe with Aziz Khattou in a non-tournament bout at K-1 Marseilles 2004 World Qualification on January 24, 2004 and came out on the losing side of a split decision.[3] A rematch with Clifton Brown in Bangkok was next up on June 11, 2004 and the outcome was the same as Maksutaj stopped the Canadian inside the opening frame.[3] Then, in a contest to crown arguably Switzerland's top heavyweight, he fought Björn Bregy in Zurich on September 25, 2004. Maksutaj gave up eight inches in height and around 32 kg/70 lb in weight and took a beating in round one, eating a barrage of Bregy's knees and punches. He was also dropped with a right cross at the beginning of the second but made a massive comeback soon after when he felled his giant opponent with a right hook.[1]

After a poor start to 2005 when he lost to Christian N'ka at the opening round of the K-1 France Grand Prix 2005 in Marseilles on January 19, 2005, Maksutaj next competed in the K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2005 held on May 21, 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was drawn against the three-time K-1 North American champion Michael McDonald in the quarter-finals and two of the smaller, more technical heavyweights on the scene at the time traded leather in an entertaining, back-and-forth battle. In round two, McDonald forced a standing eight count on Maksutaj who then rallied back and floored him with a kick to the body. Round three saw the referee give McDonald another eight count when the Canadian took what was deemed as too long to return to his feet after being pushed over by Maksutaj. After the regulation three rounds, the bout was ruled a draw and so an extension round was added to decide the victor, in which McDonald's aggression earned him the majority decision win. McDonald took so much punishment in the fight that he could not continue in the tournament.[1]

As their first fight was an instant classic, a rematch between Maksutaj and McDonald was promptly booked for the quarter-finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II on August 13, 2005 and saw Maksutaj advance with a unanimous decision win. In the semis, he lost to Russian amateur standout Ruslan Karaev by unanimous decision after another highly-entertaining bout. A disastrous round two saw him dropped with a spinning back kick to the body in the opening seconds and then have point deducted for kneeing Karaev in the face after he had slipped to the ground. He was knocked down again in the final round after taking a knee from Karaev.[1] On September 24, 2005 in Winterthur, Maksutaj lost his WPKC World Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) K-1 rules title, an accolade he had won earlier in the year, to Gary Turner on points. He would add another world title to his mantlepiece shortly after, though, as he knocked out Radan Frenchichi in his hometown to be crowned as the ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg/212 lb) Champion.[3]

On February 17, 2006, Maksutaj outfought James Phillips to a unanimous decision at the K-1 European League 2006 in Bratislava. Then, on May 20, 2006 at the K-1 Scandinavia Grand Prix 2006 in Stockholm, he KO'd his former conqueror Larry Lindwall in two to win the WMC World Heavyweight (-95 kg/209 lb) Championship, his fourteenth and final world title belt.[1] After rematching James Phillips in Lucerne, Switzerland on June 3, 2006 and winning on points again, Azem Maksutaj returned to the fight capital of the world and faced the stiffest test of his career in the form of the great Ray Sefo. Going down at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II on August 12, 2006, Sefo sent Maksutaj to the canvas twice in round one, once in round two and twice again in three, forcing the ref Steve Mazzagatti to stop the one-sided beating.[4] He fared no better in his next match when he took on Jörgen Kruth at the K-1 World MAX North European Qualification 2007 in Stockholm on November 24, 2006 as he lost by KO from a knee midway through the opening round.[3]

In an attempt to turn his fortunes around, he competed in the K-1 Rules Heavyweight Tournament 2007 in Turkey four-man competition in Istanbul on January 13, 2007 where he faced Kaoklai Kaennorsing, a two-time Rajadamnern Stadium champion renowned for taking fights with much larger opponents and defeating the majority of them, in the semi-finals. Although Maksutaj had the size advantage for the first time in his K-1 career, he was unable to capitalize on this and lost by unanimous decision after an extension round. He struggled with Kaoklai's classical Thai style throughout and was given two controversial counts, one in round two and another in the extension round, although both of these strikes actually seemed to be low blows. In his next outing on May 19, 2007, he was TKO'd by Nathan Corbett, the eventual tournament champion, in the quarter-finals of the K-1 Fighting Network Scandinavian Qualification 2007 in Stockholm.[5]

Maksutaj returned to the local circuit to stop his losing streak and took a number of wins including a points victory over Erhan Deniz in Bratislava, Slovakia on September 7, 2007 before returning to K-1 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam on April 26, 2008 to face an up-and-coming Tyrone Spong. He was outclassed by the Surinamese youngster from the get go, getting dropped from a knee to the body early in the opening stanza and knocked down again with punches at the end of the round. The second knockdown did not count as he was saved by the bell, but Spong soon finished him with another knee strike to the body in the second, bringing his losing streak in K-1 to five.[3] In one of his last fights before retiring, he was awarded a disqualification win over Domagoj Ostojić after his Croatian opponent continued to punch and kick him after knocking him to the canvas in round one of their contest in Zadar, Croatia on May 11, 2008.

He made a brief comeback to the ring to KO Jean-Luc Ajinca in three rounds at Bern's Wankdorfhalle on January 29, 2010.[1]

Personal life

He married his wife in Winterthur, Switzerland on June 1, 2007. His son was born a few weeks later. A documentary of his life and career entitled Being Azem was released in 2010.[1]

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Azem Maksutaj biography
  2. ↑ Wing Thai Gym profile
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Fight record
  4. ↑ RAY SEFO TO FIGHT ON K-1 VEGAS CARD
  5. ↑ Rumble of the Kings – WMC K-1 Super Event in Sweden

Notes

a.   ^ Albanian spelling: Azem Maksutaj, Serbo-Croat Cyrillic spelling: Азем Максутај.
b.   ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

External links