Rustemi Kreshnik
Encyclopedia
Rustemi Kreshnik is a Albanian heavyweight
Muay Thai
kickboxer fighting out of the The Real Team / Team Kreshnik in Antwerp, Belgium. He is a Benelux
and Belgium national Thai-boxing champion currently fighting within the It's Showtime
organization.
in the now disputed territory of Kosovo
. He spent the first years of his life there and rather surprisingly his first love was skiing
not fighting. In 1988 Rustemi left Peć to live with his sister in the city of Antwerp in Belgium
. Growing up in Belgium, after initially struggling with the language, he started training as a mechanic
with his future seemingly in the auto trade industry. To supplant his income, Rustemi also worked nights at a local club that was no stranger to trouble. At one of these nights he met Peter Lamberts and his (now) current trainer Omar Bel Hadi who invited him to their Thai-boxing
club where he started training in the art.
After fighting on a number of shows in Belgium and fast establishing himself as one of the top heavyweights in the country Rustemi made his K-1
debut (and so far only appearance for the organization) in 2006 at a small event in Tournai
, where he faced Souleimane Konate for the Benelux
Thai-boxing title, winning by stoppage. Rustemi held his title for little over a month, losing to a Dutch based fighter in his next fight. At the end of the year Rustemi overcame his biggest challenge yet when he defeated former K-1
contender Naoufal Benazzouz
at the Time for Action event across the border in the Netherlands
.
It was the victory over Benazzouz that drew Rustemi to the fledging It's Showtime
organization who made him their fifth Belgium
-based signing in September 2008 (although he had first fought and won on an It's Showtime card back in 2005). By signing to such a competitive organization, Rustemi would have the chance to face some of Europe's top fighters. He made his official promotional debut in early 2009, facing x2 time W.F.C.A. world champion Mourad Bouzidi
, losing via a cut. Despite this defeat, between 2009 and 2010 Rustemi would be a regular on It's Showtime
cards with wins against solid fighters such as Rico Verhoeven
and Thomas Hron being balanced with defeats against Wendell Roche
and Hesdy Gerges
. At the end of 2010 Rustemi dropped down in weight to the 95MAX division but lost a decision to newcomer Nenad Pagonis
.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
kickboxer fighting out of the The Real Team / Team Kreshnik in Antwerp, Belgium. He is a Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
and Belgium national Thai-boxing champion currently fighting within the It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
organization.
Biography/Career
Rustemi was born in the city of PećPec
Peć or Pejë is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo and Metohija - Serbia, and the administrative centre of the homonymous district. Governor of city is Ali Berisha....
in the now disputed territory of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. He spent the first years of his life there and rather surprisingly his first love was skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
not fighting. In 1988 Rustemi left Peć to live with his sister in the city of Antwerp in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Growing up in Belgium, after initially struggling with the language, he started training as a mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
with his future seemingly in the auto trade industry. To supplant his income, Rustemi also worked nights at a local club that was no stranger to trouble. At one of these nights he met Peter Lamberts and his (now) current trainer Omar Bel Hadi who invited him to their Thai-boxing
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
club where he started training in the art.
After fighting on a number of shows in Belgium and fast establishing himself as one of the top heavyweights in the country Rustemi made his K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
debut (and so far only appearance for the organization) in 2006 at a small event in Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, where he faced Souleimane Konate for the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
Thai-boxing title, winning by stoppage. Rustemi held his title for little over a month, losing to a Dutch based fighter in his next fight. At the end of the year Rustemi overcame his biggest challenge yet when he defeated former K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
contender Naoufal Benazzouz
Naoufal Benazzouz
Naoufal " Iron Leg" Benazzouz is a French-Moroccan kickboxer training at Siam Gym in Valkenswaard, Netherlands.- Biography and career :...
at the Time for Action event across the border in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
It was the victory over Benazzouz that drew Rustemi to the fledging It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
organization who made him their fifth Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-based signing in September 2008 (although he had first fought and won on an It's Showtime card back in 2005). By signing to such a competitive organization, Rustemi would have the chance to face some of Europe's top fighters. He made his official promotional debut in early 2009, facing x2 time W.F.C.A. world champion Mourad Bouzidi
Mourad Bouzidi
Mourad "The Silent Power" Bouzidi is Dutch–Tunisian heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Team Kamakura/Team Aerts in The Hague, Netherlands. He is the current Dutch Heavyweight W.F.C.A. kickboxing champion....
, losing via a cut. Despite this defeat, between 2009 and 2010 Rustemi would be a regular on It's Showtime
It's Showtime
It's Showtime is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts promotion based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded by Simon Rutz in 1998 and held its first show in 1999. They are known to cross promote their events with K-1 and other European promotions from Italy, Belgium and England...
cards with wins against solid fighters such as Rico Verhoeven
Rico Verhoeven
Rico Verhoeven is a Dutch kickboxer and currently signed to major kickboxing organization, It's Showtime.-Biography and career:Rico Verhoeven was born in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands . He began learning martial arts at age 7....
and Thomas Hron being balanced with defeats against Wendell Roche
Wendell Roche
Wendell Roche is a Dutch-Curaçao heavyweight kickboxer. He holds an amazing achievement in being the only man to ever defeat the kickboxing great Ginty Vrede....
and Hesdy Gerges
Hesdy Gerges
Hesdy Gerges is a Dutch kickboxer of Egyptian descent, fighting out of the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He holds the W.F.C.A. Super Heavyweight World title and It's Showtime World Title .-Biography and career:...
. At the end of 2010 Rustemi dropped down in weight to the 95MAX division but lost a decision to newcomer Nenad Pagonis
Nenad Pagonis
Nenad "Greek" Pagonis is a Serbian heavyweight-cruiserweight Muay Thai kickboxer currently fighting out of Mike's Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Team Pagonis in Novi Sad, Serbia. He is the current W.A.K.O. Pro world champion who has also won a number of world and European titles at amateur...
.
Titles
- 2007 W.F.C.A. Benelux Thai-boxing champion (0 title defences)
- Belgium Thai-boxing champion
Kickboxing Record
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