Anze Kopitar's wife Ines drops 1-word reaction to LA Kings captain linking up with former IBF welterweight title holder Dejan Zavec

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar linked up with retired Slovenian professional boxer Dejan Zavec this week. On Saturday, Kopitar’s wife, Ines, shared a photo of the two sports personalities on her Instagram stories.

In the picture, Kopitar and Zavec were seen sitting side by side at an outdoor cafe, smiling for the camera. Anze Kopitar held up a friendly fist bump while Zavec pointed at the NHLer.

In the caption, Ines wrote:

“Legends 💪,” and tagged both the athletes.

Kopitar wore a white t-shirt and a yellow wristband, while Zavec was dressed in a fitted black t-shirt.

Zavec, nicknamed "Mr. Sympathicus," won the IBF welterweight world title in 2009 by beating Isaac Hlatshwayo. He defended the title three times before losing it to Andre Berto in 2011. Zavec also held regional titles like the WBO and IBF Intercontinental, WBO European, and EBU-EU welterweight titles.

The boxer eventually retired in 2015 after losing to Erislandy Lara. His pro record is 35 wins (19 KOs), 4 losses, 1 no contest.

Anze Kopitar and family follow F1 Racing

Earlier this year, Anze Kopitar and his family showed support for McLaren Racing during the Australian Grand Prix. The Kopitars tuned in from home as McLaren’s Lando Norris won the rain-affected race in Melbourne.

Kopitar’s wife, Ines, shared several Instagram stories on her account from their race day experience. Anze and their son Jakob wore McLaren gear, including a bright papaya-orange T-shirt, while daughter Neza sported a Lando Norris-themed shirt. Ines also revealed that Neza is a fan of the McLaren driver.

The Kopitars and McLaren CEO Zac Brown are close friends. Their connection began after Kopitar watched a hockey scene featuring Brown in Netflix’s “Drive to Survive.”

Afterwards, he reached out to invite Brown to a Kings game, and the two quickly became friends. Brown, a lifelong Kings fan, accepted and later spent time with the Kopitar family in Los Angeles and on a skiing trip in Mammoth.

“We stayed in touch and then he had an extra few days, so he came to visit us and go skiing [in Mammoth],” Kopitar said in an interview with Mayors Manor.

“He and his wife Ines, what a great family they have,” Brown said. “They came to Vegas and then we spent a wonderful weekend in the mountains, hanging out with the kids and had some friends over. We had tons and tons of laughs.”

Their friendship has grown beyond racing and hockey. Brown has attended Kings games, and Ines was one of the first to congratulate McLaren when the team secured its first Constructors Championship in 26 years.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno