Artan Verbica – Official Boxing Manager and Matchmaker

Artan tells WBAN his story of being in boxing:

I was born in Pristina, Kosovo, on 20th March, 1979. From childhood I had love and passion for sports. I was raised and educated in a sporting spirit. As a kid I played football, basketball, athletics, etc. Fate was not on my side to become a decent athlete even though I had extraordinary talent, but apparently I had another feature that later discovered, it was writing that affirmed me to be a successful sports journalist turning into one of the analysts and the biggest connoisseurs of boxing in the country, and then in the whole world.

Columns and analysts about boxing started in world sites, in the East Side Boxing, Fight News, Seconds Out and Boxing Banter, which made me a famous in the early years of the new century from 2001 to 2007. But, my desire went even further, when in the 2009 I formed the well-known electronic boxing website, Kosova Boxing. In 2011, I brought in the market for the first time the periodical, special boxing magazine, Kosova Boxing Magazine, which I had a great impact, not only in the cultural areas, but the boxing magazine was also promoted in all the different countries of Europe and also in New York in 2014, Las Vegas in 2015.

I have never trained boxing, but as mentioned above I trained other sports . I followed every match of Team Prishtina (amateur boxing) as a child, but I watched boxing as a spectator. However, when I think about how I was raised in the spirit and sports education, then I can use e word, who I think is created especially for me, “I didn’t choose boxing. But boxing chose me”.

“It’s crazy how much I’ve achieved with boxing, two decades that are really a real experience”.

Appetites grew each time and in 2011 I was asked to help in matchmaking. It was amazing and new challenge for me. As the first Albanian matchmaker, I continued even further, participating and mediating in the biggest world events. Today I’m recognized for this role in the worldwide by the entire spectrum of world boxing, having an extraordinary respect.

Till now as a matchmaker around the world, so far, I mediated more than 500 matches in nearly 200 different events, such as in Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark , Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Malta, Russia, USA, Canada, in more then 30 countries around the world.

My activities grows up even more. Today I manage more then top 40 top boxers around the world, around 20 female boxers.

My greatest success is the triumph with my boxer, Patricia Berghult winning WBC-Interim and IBO in Malta in 2019 and regular WBC title in super welterweight in the 2021.

Another success for me was last year, in December of 2022, where my boxer Femke Hermans won the  IBO super welterweight title in Canada, beating undefeated home boxer, legend Mary Spencer. We had a title defense on October 13th 2023, IBO title and challenging IBF title, again with Spencer in Montreal, Canada.

My other female boxer was successful, Oshin Deriuew (19-0, 7 KO), she won the WBA Intercontinental title. She is going to fight winner of Katie Taylor vs. Chantelle Cameron. Oshin is qualified also for the Olympic Games, “Paris 2024”. She won silver medal in the European Games, “Krakow 2023” in Poland.

I am also an adviser of Fabiana Bytyqi (20-0-2, 5 KO) a WBC Atomweight champion of the world. As a matchmaker and advisor, I mentored her when she won back the title.

Note: Some of the biggest event I have follow up and was involved in organization:

June 14, 2014 at Barclays, New York

WBO super lightweight championship fight between Chris Algeri and Ruslan Provdnikov.

May 2, 2015 at MGM Las Vegas, USA, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao

Fight of Century

October 9, 2020 at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Tyson Fury and Doantey Wilder

WBC heavyweight title fight

October 15, 2022 at the O2 Arena, London, UK

Clerissa Shields and Savannah Marshall for

WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO unification fight

Artan Verbica – Boxrec link as a manager https://boxrec.com/en/manager/567391

Artan Verbica – Boxrec link as a matchmaker https://boxrec.com/en/matchmaker/567391

Today I manage 19 females, some the best in the World

Femke Hermans – Current IBO Super Welterweight Champion
Patricia Berghult – Former WBC Super Welterweight Champion
Priscilla Peterle – EBU European Champion
Chris Namus – Former IBF Super Welterweight Champion
Ogleidis Suarez – Former WBA Interim Super Feather champion & IBF Super Welterweight challenger
Oshin Deriuew – Undefeated, 19-0, one of the best in super lightweight division
Current WBA Intercontinental Champion and EBU Champion in Super lightweight,
She is qualified also for Olimpic Games – Paris 2024
Naomi Mannes – EBU challenger this year – lost in points by Kristie Bawington
Fabiana Bytyqi – Current WBC Atomweight champion – Im her adviser

 List of my female boxers:

Super Middleweight
Matija Paradzik (3-1, 2 KO)  – Inactive

Middleweight

Jystina Walas (3-0, 1 KO)

Super Welterweight

Femke Hermans (15-4-0, 5 KO)
Patricia Berghult (16-1, 4 KO)
Priscilla Peterle (8-0-0, 2 KO)

Chris Namus (25-8-0, 8 KO)

Marianne Ahlborg (6-1-0, 2 KO)

Welterweight

Ogleadiz Suarez (30-5-1, 14 KO)

Joyce Van Ee (2-2-1, 1 KO)

Oshin Deriuew (19-0, 7 KO)
Naomi Mannes (6-2-0, 4 KO)

Lightweight

Milena Koleva (10-15-1, 4 KO)

Valgerdur Gudstesdotti (5-4-0, 1 KO)

Claire Sammut (4-8-0, 1 KO)

Featherweight

Emma Gongara (6-2-0, 0 KO)

Super Bantamweight

Amira Cannazzaro (6-19-1, 1 KO)

Bantamweight

Jorgelina Guanini – (10-5-2, 1 KO)

Flyweight

Alexis Kubicki (8-1, 2 KO)

Atomweight

Fabiana Bytyqi (20-0-2, 5 KO)

 

Matchmaking title fights made it by me:

 Year 2018

15 december 2018 – Hamburg, Germany
– _{_}
Karo Murat (32-3-1, 21 KO) vs. Sven Fornling (14-1-0, 7 KO)
IBO World title – Light Heavyweight

10 november 2018, Orebro, Sweden
– –
Patricia Berghult (10-0, 3 KO) vs. Yamila Belen Abellneda (6-2-0, 3 KO)
RBO title – Welterweight

29 september 2018, Hamburg Germany
– –
Ali Eren Demirzen (9-0, 9 KO) vs. Sergiej Werwejko (8-1-0, 6 KO)
WBO Europe title– Heavyweight

19 may 2018, Istanbul, Turkey
– –
Fath Keles (10-0-1, 5 KO) vs. Maxim Churbanov (8-3-1, 0 KO)
WBO Europe title– Lightweight

– –
Huseyin Cinkara (11-0, 9 KO) vs. Yuri Bykhautsou (10-15-3, 5 KO)
BDB German International title– Cruserweight

 Year 2019

27 november 2019 – Malta
– –
Hannah Rankin (8-3-0, 1 KO) vs. Patricia Berghult (13-0, 3 KO)
WBC Interim – Super welterweight
IBO World title – Super Welterweight

6 july 2019- Hamburg, Germany
– –
Sebastian Formela (20-0, 10 KO) vs. Thulani Mbenge (15-0, 12 KO)
IBO World title – Welterweight

16 march 2019 – Orebro, Sweden
– –
Pezhman Seifkhani (8-0, 5 KO) vs. Leandro Rufino (6-0-1, 5 KO)
RBO title – Heavyweight

 Year 2020

7 march 2020, Bergen, Norway
– –
Tim Robin Lihaug (19-4-0, 10 KO) vs. Vartan Avetsyan (18-2-1, 11 KO)
WBF title – Light Heavyweight
– Part of Event, Coordinator and Matchmaker –

13 march 2020 – London, UK
– –
Nathan Heaney (9-0, 3 KO) vs. Christian Schembri (17-7-0, 7 KO)
IBO Continental title – Super Middleweight
– Matchmaker-

4 october 2020- London, UK
– –
Joshua Buatsi (12-0, 10 KO) vs. Marko Calic (11-0, 6 KO)
WBA International title– Light Heavyweight

Year 2021

13 march 2021, Hamburg, Germany
– –
Ali Eren Demirzen (13-1-0, 10 KO) vs. Nikola Milacic (21-1-0, 14 KO)
WBO Europe title – Heavyweight
-Part of Event –

28 august  2021, Vienna, Austria
– –
Mansour Elsaev (13-0, 11 KO) vs. Yosko Stoychev (13-0, 9 KO)
 WBC Asia – Light Heavyweight
– Matchmaker-

11 october 2021, Ufa, Russia

Albert Batyrgaziev (3-0, 2 KO) vs. Suat Laze (25-7-1, 7 KO)
WBO Europe – Featherweight
– Matchmaker-

27 november 2021, Jonkoping, Sweden

Patricia Berghult (14-0, 3 KO) vs. Olivia Belkacem (10-2, 1 KO)
WBC World title – Super Welterweight
– Matchmaker-

Year 2022

19 february 2022, Manchester, UK
– –
Natasha Jonas (10-2-1, 7 KO) vs. Chris Namus (25-6-0, 8 KO)
WBO World title – Super Welterweight
–Matchmaker-
2 prill 2022, Newcasttle, UK

Savannah Marshall (10-0, 9 KO) vs. Femke Hermans (12-3-0, 5 KO)
WBO World title – Middleweight
– Part of event – Manager of Hermans-

17 june 2022, Liverpool, UK
– –
Nathan Gorman (18-1-0, 12 KO) vs. Tomas Salek (18-3-0, 13 KO)
IBF International title – Heavyweight
–Matchmaker-

 29 july 2022, Ferizaj, Kosovo
– –
Fabiana Bytyqi (19-0-1, 5 KO) vs. Elisabthe Lopez Corzo (10-4-4, 1 KO)
WBC World title – Atomweight
-Matchmaker-

3 september 2022, Liverpool, UK
– –
Natasha Jonas (11-2-1, 8 KO) vs. Patricia Berghult (15-0, 13 KO)
WBC & WBO Unification title
– Part of event – Manager of Berghult –

3 september 2022, Liverpool, UK
– –
Natasha Jonas (11-2-1, 8 KO) vs. Patricia Berghult (15-0, 13 KO)
WBC & WBO Unification title
– Part of event – Manager of Berghult –

15 october  2022, London, UK 
– –
Clerissa Shields (12-0, 2 KO) vs. Savannah Marshalls (12-0, 11 KO)
WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO titles

Caroline Dubois (3-0, 2 KO) vs. Milena Koleva (10-14-1, 4 KO)
– Part of event –

19 november 2022, Sheffield, UK
– –
Kristie Bavington (6-2-2, 2 KO) vs. Naomi Mannes (6-0, 4 KO)
EBU title
– Part of event – Manager of Mannes –

16 december 2022, Shawinghan, Canada
– –
Kristie Bavington (7-0, 5 KO) vs. Femke Hermans (13-4-0, 5 KO)
IBO world title
– Part of event – Manager of Hermans –

Year 2023

4 february 2023, Ingelmunster, Belgium
– –
Oshin Deriuew (18-0, 5 KO) vs. Francia Elena Bravo (23-5-2, 14 KO)
WBA Intercontinental title
– Part of event – Manager of Deriuew

15 prill 2023, Brno, Checz Republic
– –
Fabiana Bytyqi (19-0-2, 5 KO) vs. Elisabthe Lopez Corzo (10-5-5, 1 KO)
WBC World title – Atomweight
-Matchmaker and Part of team Bytyqi –

12 may 2023, Place Bell, Laval, Canada
– –
Kim Clavel (17-1-0, 3 KO) vs. Naomi Arelano Reyes  (9-2-0, 5 KO)
WBC International title – Light Flyweight
-Matchmaker–

24 june 2023, Rostock, Germany 
– –
Marios Kollias (11-2-1, 9 KO) vs. Felix Langberg (12-1-1, 11 KO)
WBA Continental Title
-Part of team Kollias  –