Arnold Gjergjaj: A tough guy – but only in the boxing ring!
By: Albina Makolli April 11, 2014
Arnold Gjergjaj, also known as The Cobra, is considered the best boxer in the heavy weight category. He won all of his 24 matches! (18 through KO).
Arnold practices every day in order to be up to speed for 12 rounds. Aside from this, he is physically strong by nature. He got the nickname Cobra from his trainer when he qualified to be a professional boxer. At the beginning Arnold did not like his nickname because he is afraid of snakes. However, his trainer convinced Arnold that that’s the most suitable nickname for him because Arnold is a fighter whose hit leaves his opponent with repercussions. Arnold now enjoys his name immensely after he took some time to get used to it.
Arnold Gjergjaj has always enjoyed boxing. He remembers that he left Kosovo in July 1999 to go live in Switzerland. Three months after this even, Arnold began kickboxing. After seven fights in kickboxing Arnold decided to only do boxing. He won multiple fights as an amateur boxer and gained the status of a professional boxer through his hard work. He gained this status for years ago and won 24 matches since then, remaining undefeated.
When he left Kosovo at the age of 14, Arnold faced challenges of integrating into a new culture and learning a new language. During this time he realized that effort is the key to a successful life and continued integrating into his new surroundings very quickly and easily. Today, Arnold is not only a boxer, but also an ambassador for an association which works with kids who need encouragement in finding non-violent solutions to problems through sports.
Arnold enjoys the attention of both countries, Kosovo and Switzerland. The Swiss media regularly reports on his success and Albanians show up at his matches in big numbers. To him, it is important that all Albanians abroad serve as ambassadors and show respect and thankfulness to their host countries, as these countries offer them numerous possibilities to move forward. When Arnold spends time with his friends and family he is very calm and sociable which is very much unlike his in-the-ring personality. During his family time, he prefers not to talk about boxing but rather likes to discuss other topics.
Arnold’s dream is to fight against Vladimir Klitshko. He is working hard on increasing his chances to win in a fight with Vladimir. Arnold’s overall goal is to win the world championship and he aims at achieving this in two to three years.
The original article was posted at Albinfo.ch – Click here to read the original article.
Albina Makolli
Albina Makolli is a blog contributor. She fled Kosovo when she was four; she grew up in Germany. Albina received her under graduate degree in European studies, and then continued with a graduate program in Public Policy and Human Development at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. Within the framework of her graduate program she specialized in Migration studies. Last summer (2012), Albina visited Kosovo for the purpose of conducting research for her Master thesis. The data that she gathered helped her to learn more about young Kosovars’ emigration plans and concerns about their country’s economic development. This summer she returned to Kosovo to work for the IOM and UNDP joint project 'Diaspora Engagement in Economic Development'. The purpose of the study is to facilitate and incentivise Diaspora investments in Kosovo.
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