Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
) is a retired
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
kickboxer
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
. Merza was a multiple world kickboxing and Muay Thai champion.
Biography and career
Early years
Fadi Merza was born in Derbassiah, Syria to an Assyrian family. Fadi was ten years old, when he and his family left his native Syria and moved to Vienna. "My parents just wanted to provide us a secure future. Within just six months, I had mastered the German language", said Merza in a 2012 interview. At the age of 16, Fadi started training kickboxing. After fighting as an amateur in the kickboxing circuit, he switched to Muay Thai. He was awarded his first title at age 18, when he won the WPKL Junior World Super Welterweight Championship during an event near Vienna, Austria on November 15, 1997.
Having become a youth champion, Merza was given the chance in 2000 to fight for the World Muay Thai Middleweight Championship of the World Professional Kickboxing Council (WPKC), one of the minor sanctioning organizations in the world. Fadi decisioned his opponent to win his second World title. In May 2001, the European Thaiboxing Championship of the more prestigious WKA was at stake. He faced off against the routined Brit Eugene Valerio at the first Vienna Fight Night. Valerio was troubled by Fadi’s accurate knee strikes, suffering a cut above his eye. A well placed kick to the midsection finally proved to be the Brit’s downfall, by breaking his forearm. Fadi won via TKO in the second round.
A year later, again in Vienna, Fadi challenged Mohammed Ouali for the vacant WKA Thaiboxing World Middleweight title. The fight went to the distance after five grueling rounds. In front of his hometown crowd Fadi lost a close decision. Despite his defeat he was signed by Austrian businessman Marcus Bauer for his kickboxing organization SuperLeague.
Fighting for SuperLeague
Merza made his debut in SuperLeague at the kick off show in Vienna in May 2003. Fadi showed a dominant performance against Takahiko Shimizu from Japan. At his second SuperLeague appearance, in Wuppertal, Germany, he faced off against another Japanese fighter,
Akeomi Nitta
Akeomi Nitta (新田明臣, born July 23, 1973) is a Japanese kickboxer.Profile at K-1 He is one of ...
. Fadi dominated the first two rounds, but the fight soon turned into a tough battle. After five hard rounds, Merza got a decision victory.
In January 2004, Merza challenged Kamal El Amrani for his IKBO World Middleweight Championship belt. In front of a sold-out crowd, again going to distance in a spectacular fight, Fadi lost a close decision against his well-known Moroccan adversary. Fadi Merza claimed the number three spot in the official SuperLeague middleweight rankings with victories over Peter Crook, Jose Reis, Petr Polak and Malaipet Sasiprapa and losing only his fights against Ole Laursen, Sahin Yakut and John Wayne Parr. Ending his successful SuperLeague career, Fadi faced Alviar Lima for the vacant SuperLeague Middleweight belt, losing a close decision. His fight against Lima is still considered by many fight fans as the best bout in SuperLeague history.
King's Cup participation
Merza was able to return to the winner's column in impressive fashion by knocking out Ümüt Demirörüs and Rico Recineu, in one night to win the King’s Cup qualifier tournament in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in September 2009. Fadi earned himself a spot in the King's Cup, the most prestigious and biggest Muay Thai tournament in the world, which is held once a year in Bangkok, Thailand. Cheered on by over 150,000 spectators, Merza defeated his quarter final opponent, Enriko Kehl from Germany. Kehl hit the canvas twice, after being hit with hard elbows and knees, giving Merza the well deserved decision victory. Unfortunately, Fadi had to withdraw from the tournament due to a ruptured ear drum, as well as a cut over his right eye, forcing the ring-side doctor to not give his consent for another fight.
World title success
After fighting for SuperLeague, Merza had regular appearances in international promotions all over the world. Merza was given the chance to fight for a world title again on February 7, 2010, taking on Luca D’Isanto for the ISKA Oriental Light Middleweight Championship. Staged at the Wiener Stadium in the centre of Vienna, Merza hurt Di Santo in the first round with a knee to the head. The Italian took an eight count but wasn’t ready to give up. Merza had to earn the title winning a clear unanimous decision. Before the year was done, he added one more world title to his mantlepiece, outpointing Bachir Maroun in Munich, Germany on August 25, 2010 to take the WKA K-1 rules World Super Welterweight belt.
On January 22, 2011, Fadi faced Joakim Karlsson in Vienna, Austria. A rematch as Karlsson defeated him in their first encounter. He decisioned the Swede over five rounds for the WKA K-1 rules World Middleweight title. Merza made an impressive six successful title defenses during his reign as champion. For his first defense, he chose to fight Dan Balsemao from Portugal in a rematch. Balsemao had performed well in their first encounter, winning the fight on points. However, this time Merza bested the Portuguese over five rounds to defend the belt.
Fadi's next title defense pitted him against Darko Delic. The kickboxer from Bosnia and Herzegovina was not regarded as a top contender and it took Merza only two rounds to end the fight. His next defense was against a much tougher opponent. In September 2012, he faced the highly regarded Dane Mohammed El Mir. Merza proved that he still belonged on the world stage when he defeated El Mir on points. In his sixth defense, Fadi was challenged by Jason Woodham, a WMC MAD champion from England. Merza dominated the fight from start to finish. In the first round, the Brit went to the canvas. Clearly not having recovered, Manhood went down again in the second round after a two right hooks and a left jab combination. The referee intervened and stopped the fight.
On May 4, 2012, Merza eventually lost his WKA K-1 rules World Middleweight title in his seventh title defense. After five rounds, almost everyone at ringside saw it as a draw. However, the fight went in favor of Fadi's opponent Fernando Calzetta, who was awarded a points win.
Doping suspension
In 2013, Merza was suspended by the OPBU for 2 years for his refusal to submit a sample at ''Multiversum'' in Schwechat, Austria on 4 May 2013.
Personal life
Fadi Merza is married to his longtime girlfriend Ines.
Titles
*2012 OPBU K-1 rules World Middleweight Championship
*2011 WKA K-1 rules World Middleweight Championship (6 title defenses)
*2010 WKA K-1 rules World Super Welterweight Championship
*2010 ISKA Oriental World Light Middleweight Championship
*2009 WMC King's Cup Challenge Tournament Champion
*2001 WKA Thaiboxing European Middleweight Championship
*2000 WPKC Muay Thai Middleweight Championship
*1997 World Professional Kickboxing League (WPKL) Junior World Super Welterweight Championship
Mohamed El-Mir
Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam.
Muhammad and variations may also refer to:
*Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations
...
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
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, 2012-02-17 , , Loss , , align=left, Yoshihiro Sato , , Krush Vol. 16 , , Tokyo, Japan , , Decision (Unanimous), , 5 , , 3:00
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Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Netherlands , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00
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, 2010-09-25 , , Win , , align=left, Alessandro Iacono , , Die Nacht der 8, , Vienna, Austria , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00
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, 2010-06-05 , , Draw , , align=left, Anthony Kane , , Vienna Fight Night , , Vienna, Austria , , Decision draw , , 3 , , 3:00
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Vladimír Moravčík
Vladimír Moravčík (born December 5, 1981) is a Slovak middleweight Muay Thai Fighter.
He was ranked #7 light heavyweight kickboxer in the world in May 2011, by Liverkick.com.
Biography and career
Moravčík started training Muay Thai when ...
Enriko Kehl
Enriko Kehl (born February 19, 1992), is a German Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in ONE Championship. He is the 2014 K-1 World Max Championship Tournament Champion. Kehl was voted German Kickboxer of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Career
E ...
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Arosa, Switzerland
, neighboring_municipalities= Alvaneu, Davos, Langwies, Lantsch/Lenz, Molinis, Peist, Schmitten, Tschiertschen, Vaz/Obervaz, Wiesen
, twintowns = Fukumitsu (Japan)
Arosa is a town and a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton o ...
Arosa, Switzerland
, neighboring_municipalities= Alvaneu, Davos, Langwies, Lantsch/Lenz, Molinis, Peist, Schmitten, Tschiertschen, Vaz/Obervaz, Wiesen
, twintowns = Fukumitsu (Japan)
Arosa is a town and a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton o ...
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Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Vasily Shish
Vasily "Torero" Shish (born 7 August 1982) is a Belarusian people, Belarusian Muay Thai middleweight kickboxing, kickboxer fighting out of Minsk, Belarus for the Chinuk Gym. He is a five time world and five time European Muaythai and kickboxing ...
Abdallah Mabel
Abdallah Mabel (born April 14, 1983), also known as ''"La Panthère"'', is a France, French-Cameroonian Muay Thai kickboxer, famous for his technical and unpredictable fighting style.
Biography and career
Biography
Abdallah Mabel was born on ...
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Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
Albufeira, Portugal
Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
Vasily Shish
Vasily "Torero" Shish (born 7 August 1982) is a Belarusian people, Belarusian Muay Thai middleweight kickboxing, kickboxer fighting out of Minsk, Belarus for the Chinuk Gym. He is a five time world and five time European Muaythai and kickboxing ...