Kickboxing World Champion On Trial For Savage Beating Of Oktoberfest Waiter
Besim Kabashi, the Kosovo-born, Munich-based world heavyweight kickboxing champion, is alleged to have let loose a flurry of punches and kicks on a waiter who'd told him to leave a table under an Oktoberfest tent. Kabashi says he was too drunk to
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEINTUNG/Worldcrunch
MUNICH - Besim Kabashi claims to be "the hardest puncher in Germany." And Sebastian A., a waiter, is unlikely to argue with that, having served as punching bag for the world's heavy and superheavyweight kickboxing champion.
In 2010, the 29-year-old was on serving duty in an Oktoberfest tent in Munich when the fighter let loose. Kabashi allegedly didn't stop until the waiter lay on the ground severely bruised, with eye lacerations and an umbilical hernia. Since Tuesday, the 35-year-old fighter has been on trial in local court in Munich for the attack.
He was very sorry for what happened, but he couldn't remember any of it, said the Kosovo-born Kabashi, charged with grievous bodily harm. According to the prosecution, on September 27, 2010, Kabashi and some friends visited two beer tents before settling in the reserved section of the Augustiner tent.
Sebastian A. went along with this although the men didn't have reservations, but did state that after one beer they would have to move on. However, after drinking up, the group asked for another round. By his own account, Kabashi had already had three beers at this point.
The waiter insisted that the table had to be freed, while at the same time Kabashi and his friends had embarked on very insistent attempts to befriend some women at the next table -- to the annoyance of the women.
Instead of leaving the table, the prosecution stated, Kabashi became angry. In quick succession, he allegedly delivered 15 punches to the waiter's face, and then pushed him against a stair landing so he could deliver some kicks. It took four men from security to get Kabashi under control.
His claim that he couldn't remember anything was rejected by a medical expert as "untypical."
Experts also stated that Kabashi was not very drunk. At his weight (100 kg), four beers worked out to a relatively tame blood-alcohol level of 1.4.
Kabashi has much to lose from the incident. At the next court session in early December, the prosecution is expected to ask for a prison sentence. And if there's one thing the sporting world doesn't like, it's a conviction for violent offense.
Read the original article in German
Photo - LoveGreenPhotos
