Serbian opponent eliminated: Maliqaj wins explosive title fight

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Big victory for Egzon Maliqaj (32). The man from Aargau won the first international title of his career on Saturday evening. In Klingnau he defeated his Serbian opponent Novak Radulovic (27).

In the ninth round of the fight, Maliqaj knocked down his opponent twice. Radulovic gets back up, but after the second knockdown the referee ends the fight early and Maliqaj can celebrate his victory by technical knockout.

No tensions despite political explosiveness

“From the fourth round it was clear to me that I could end the fight early,” said the lucky winner after the fight. Maliqaj could probably make the sack earlier, but he enjoyed it. “The intensive training has paid off,” says the man from Aargau happily.

The hot affair between a Swiss-Kosovar and a Serb did not become a problem. “We always respected each other in the ring, at the weigh-in and at the press conference. There was absolutely no tension on our part.”

Springboard abroad?

Maliqaj wins the IBO International middleweight title (up to 72.5kg). Overall, it’s the 14th win in the 16th professional fight of his career. As he told Blick before the fight, he now wants to use this title as a stepping stone to fight abroad next year.

But first everyday life returns. Maliqaj will be back in the office on Monday; the self-proclaimed ‘Fighting Engineer’ works 100 percent as a mechanical engineer. (bjl)

Source : Blick