13-year-old ‘Albanian Bear’ is an undefeated, champion boxing, MMA and martial arts prodigy
By Cameron Smith | Prep Rally – Fri, Dec 7, 2012 6:27 AM EST
Has anyone ever heard of a better nickname for a boxer than "The Albanian Bear"? Anyone? Didn't think so. Now meet the 13-year-old who earned that moniker one momentous bout at a time.
As noted by Off the Bench and MMATKO, among other sources, Staten Island middle schooler Reshat Mati is a three-martial arts and boxing wunderkind. He's so advanced in all of the disciplines in which he trains that he is practically unbeatable. He's a United States Silver Gloves national champion boxer, and he may be even better in muay thai, kickboxing and wrestling.
All those victories and an Albanian heritage combine to form the basis for that unique nickname, one which Mati hopes will become much more pervasive in the years ahead.
So far, the youngster seems to be right on track. An amateur in all discplines, he is an undefeated boxer, an undefeated muay thai fighter and an undefeated MMA competitor.
Of course, muay thai, kickboxing, wrestling and boxing make up the basis of MMA competition. There's no coincidence that Mati trains in those specific discplines: Despite being just 13 years old, he already dreams of a future competing on the UFC circuit.
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That MMA dream doesn't keep him from simultaneously dreaming of a future in professional boxing, too. To chase both of those pursuits, Mati trains in multiple gyms in multiple boroughs -- boxing in Brooklyn and kickboxing in Staten Island -- five days per week. On the weekend he often travels out of state to compete in MMA bouts, since the sport has been banned in the state of New York.
"He likes MMA the most, because it's a combination of all sports," Adrian Mati, Reshat's father, told THNKR in a video interview. "Four years in a row he's a world kickboxing champion. He's a North American official grapplers champion. He's a jui jitsu champion."
Despite all those titles, the younger Mati still has some of the same gameday jitters that other less heralded athletes suffer from. In particular, Mati still gets nervous about failing in front of his father, who has trained him since before he even started school.
"I want to prove to my father that I'm good enough to box," Reshat Mati told THNKR. |
