Besar Nimani, former IBF European Welterweight title holder, was killed in a street shooting in Bielefeld, Germany.
According to the German news source Bild, the incident occurred without warning on a busy street. Despite law enforcement cordoning access to the area, no arrests have been made.
One eyewitness reported seeing at least two gunmen flee the scene, saying, “In any case, it’s bad that the perpetrators (there were at least two of them, they ran past the ice cream parlor) are still running around freely.”
Despite the efforts of first aid workers, Nimani died at the scene. Nimani was famed for winning 26 of his 27 scheduled fights. He began his boxing career in 2011, enjoying a knock out rate of just over 84 percent until his retirement in 2019.
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Born in Kosovo, Nimani moved with his family to Germany in 1996 to escape the Kosovan War. According to TMZ, he remained close to his brother, Berati, who posted about the death on social media.
“My brother Besar Nimani was killed today in an ambush in Bielefeld, Germany. May God join us in heaven with him. I will forever be proud of you, I love you. R.I.P.,” he wrote.
Reportedly, Nimani was in a bar altercation in 2013 that ended in another shooting. Nimani was injured but survived. It is not known if the two incidents are linked.
According to his Instagram account, Nimani was married and the father to three at the time of his death.
