Sefer Seferi (born 5 March 1979) is an Albanian professional boxer who challenged for the IBO cruiserweight title in 2019. His older brother Nuri Seferi is also a professional boxer.^[1]

Boxing career

Seferi was born in Gostivar, SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia), and is of Albanian heritage. Whilst in Yugoslavia both he and brother Nuri started out wrestling, a sport which their grandfather had competed in professionally. In 1992 the family fled from Gostivar and moved to Burgdorf, Switzerland. Both brothers took up boxing in order to help with integration into Swiss society.

Seferi made his professional debut in May 2007 in the cruiserweight division. Over the next 9 years he built up a record of 21–0 with 19 knockouts, albeit against low level opposition.

On 17 September 2016, Seferi fought former WBC heavyweight title challenger and future WBA heavyweight champion Manuel Charr for WBA International heavyweight title, with Seferi making the step up to heavyweight for the first time. Charr defeated Seferi by unanimous decision after 10 rounds, ending Seferi's unbeaten record.^[2]

On 20 May 2018, Seferi was announced as the first opponent for the return of former unified and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, with the fight set to take place on 9 June at Manchester Arena. The fight would be Fury's first since he beat Wladimir Klitschko to become champion more than two and half years previously in November 2015.^[3][4] In April 2018, several weeks before Fury's opponent was announced, several press outlets reported Seferi was rumoured to have been chosen, with Seferi himself quoted as saying, "This would make my dream come true. I never thought I'd have the chance to stand against Fury, he is my idol. Fury is a boxing legend of the 21st century. He is tall, has weight and strength but moves easily, and he dethroned Klitschko. Fury is a bear."^[5] The fight ended in a disappointing fourth round corner retirement loss for Seferi.^[6]

On 21 September 2019, he challenged Kevin Lerena in Gauteng, South Africa for his IBO cruiserweight title, but was unsuccessful and lost via third-round technical knockout.^[7]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
30	Loss	25–4–1	Kem Ljungquist	RTD	3 (12) 3:00	05 May 2023	Doellefjelde Musse Marked, Nysted, Denmark	For vacant IBF International heavyweight title
29	Win	25–3–1	Roman Kracik	KO	3 (12) 1:19	18 Jun 2022	Sporthalle Schuetzenmatt, Burgdorf, Switzerland	For vacant Universal Boxing Organization World cruiserweight title
28	Win	24–3–1	Laszlo Ivanyi	RTD	5 (12) 3:00	30 Nov 2019	Markthalle, Burgdorf, Switzerland
27	Loss	23–3–1	Kevin Lerena	TKO	3 (12) 2:30	21 Sep 2019	Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa	For IBO cruiserweight title
26	Draw	23–2–1	Firat Arslan	MD	12	17 Nov 2018	Goeppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	For Global Boxing Union World Cruiserweight Title and WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
25	Loss	23–2	Tyson Fury	RTD	4 (10), 3:00	9 Jun 2018	Manchester Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, U.K.
24	Win	23–1	Laszlo Hubert	KO	2 (8)	16 Mar 2018	Hallmann Dome, Vienna, Austria
23	Win	22–1	Marcelo Ferreira dos Santos	KO	5 (12)	1 Apr 2017	Markthalle, Burgdorf, Switzerland	Retained WBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title
22	Loss	21–1	Manuel Charr	UD	10	17 Sep 2016	Goeppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	For vacant WBA International heavyweight title
21	Win	21–0	Laszlo Hubert	TKO	2 (12)	23 Apr 2016	Markthalle, Burgdorf, Switzerland	Won vacant WBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title
20	Win	20–0	Radenko Kovac	KO	1 (6)	27 Jun 2015	Sportpark Lippe, Detmold, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
19	Win	19–0	Sasa Dajic	KO	1 (8)	9 May 2015	Hildesheim, Niedersachsen, Germany
18	Win	18–0	Josef Krivka	TKO	1 (6)	16 May 2014	CU Arena, Hamburg, Germany
17	Win	17–0	Josip Jalusic	TKO	1 (6)	26 Apr 2014	Atrium Sports Center, Buchs, Switzerland
16	Win	16–0	Gyula Bozai	UD	6	7 Oct 2012	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje, Macedonia
15	Win	15–0	Marko Angermann	TKO	6 (6)	11 Feb 2012	Boxsporthalle Braamkamp, Winterhude, Hamburg, Germany
14	Win	14–0	Josip Jalusic	TKO	6 (8)	15 Oct 2011	Sporthalle Schuetzenmatt, Burgdorf, Switzerland
13	Win	13–0	Gabor Zsalek	TKO	2 (12)	24 Sep 2011	Gostivar, Macedonia
12	Win	12–0	Istvan Bobis	TKO	2 (6)	27 Nov 2010	Gostivar, Macedonia
11	Win	11–0	Viktor Szalai	TKO	2 (12)	26 Jun 2010	Calafatti Halle Prater, Vienna, Austria	Won vacant WBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title
10	Win	10–0	Tomislav Juric Grgic	TKO	4 (6)	26 Dec 2009	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
9	Win	9–0	Ferenc Zsalek	KO	1 (6)	5 Dec 2009	Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland
8	Win	8–0	Gyorgy Mihalik	TKO	3 (6)	25 Jul 2009	Salla e Sportit, Gostivar, Macedonia
7	Win	7–0	Ivica Cukusic	RTD	4 (6)	18 Apr 2009	Pallati i Rinise, Pristina, Kosovo
6	Win	6–0	Roman Klucar	TKO	2 (6)	20 Dec 2008	Markthalle, Burgdorf, Switzerland
5	Win	5–0	Attila Makula	TKO	4 (6)	28 Nov 2008	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje, Macedonia
4	Win	4–0	Gyorgy Mihalik	KO	6 (6)	28 Jun 2008	Markthalle, Burgdorf, Switzerland
3	Win	3–0	Jonathan Pasi	TKO	5 (6)	3 May 2008	Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland
2	Win	2–0	Drazen Ordulj	UD	6	8 Dec 2007	Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland
1	Win	1–0	Anton Lascek	TKO	4 (6)	26 May 2007	Sporthalle, Kirchberg, Switzerland

References