Second successful title defense for Labinot Xhoxhaj: The EBU heavyweight champion wins in Lahr with a knockout against Pezhman Seifkhani.
Heavyweight Labinot Xhoxhaj has impressively defended his EBU European title. At the indoor sports center in Lahr (Baden-Württemberg), the 32-year-old with Kosovan roots defeated his challenger Pezhman Seifkhani by knockout in the fourth round.
Xhoxhaj (22-0-1, 17 knockouts) delivered his second successful title defense in a row and inflicted the second early defeat of his career on Seifkhani (17-2, 12 knockouts). In front of his home crowd, the European champion showed his punching hardness and his pronounced killer instinct.
The champion’s hour came in the fourth round. A hard right hand sent Seifkhani to the floor for the first time. The Swede got back to his feet, but Xhoxhaj followed up uncompromisingly, cutting off the ring and forcing him onto the defensive with precise combinations. Another right jab to the chin ended the fight for good – the referee stopped the fight while Seifkhani was still on the ground.
Xhoxhaj secured his EBU title in November 2024 with a surprise victory against Oleksandr Zakhozhyi. This was followed by another strong performance against Mourad Aliev at the Universum Gym in Hamburg, where he triumphed unanimously on points.
For Seifkhani, this ends a run of three consecutive victories. Most recently, he secured the EBU Silver title with a points victory over Eduardo Giustini, but he was now clearly beaten at the highest European level.