Željko Mavrović

Željko Mavrović
Statistics
Real name	Željko Mavrović
Nickname(s)	Zed, Šaka sa Srednjaka
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Nationality	Croatian
Born	(1969-02-17) February 17, 1969 Zagreb, Croatia
Stance	Orthodox, right-handed
Boxing record
Total fights	28
Wins	27
Wins by KO	22
Losses	1

Željko Mavrović (born February 17, 1969) is a Croatian former boxer turned entrepreneur.

Background

Mavrović was born in Zagreb, in the neighbourhood Srednjaci (which is the source of his nickname Šaka sa Srednjaka or "Fist from Srednjaci").

Amateur career

As an amateur boxer, Mavrović was the Mediterranean champion in 1991 and Croatian champion in 1991 and 1992. Other Amateur accomplishments were:

• 1988 Olympic Games, Seoul, South Korea (Heavyweight)
  • Lost to Baik Hyun-Man (South Korea) 0–5
• 1989 European Championships, Athens, Greece (Heavyweight)
  • Lost-SD Axel Schulz (Germany)
• 1991 European Championships, Stockholm, Sweden (Heavyweight)
  • Lost-PTS Arnold Vanderlijde (Netherlands)
• 1991 Mediterranean Games, Athens, Greece (Heavyweight): Gold Medal
  • Final Match: Defeated Georgios Stefanopoulos points (Greece)
• 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain (Heavyweight)
  • Defeated Mark Hulstrom (Denmark) 8–2
  • Lost to Danell Nicholson (US) 6–9

Professional career

Upon turning professional, he became the boxing champion of Europe (EBU) in 1995 and kept his title in 1996 and 1997 against seven opponents.

In 1998, he went up against Lennox Lewis for the world heavyweight champion title, but lost after twelve rounds on points. Although he was outclassed by Lewis in the fight, his daring performance pulled appreciative comments from boxing insiders. Lewis' manager Frank Maloney said that "Mavrović must have 240lb of steel in his chin" after the fight.^[1] Lewis described the fight as the most awkward win of his career, citing sauna-like conditions in the ring, as well as Mavrović's agility, motivation and preparedness.^[2]

Mavrović never fought again after this bout. In the next years he was a few times scheduled against quality opposition (like for example against Hasim Rahman in 1999 where his late replacement Oleg Maskaev then knocked Rahman out of the ring in a well remembered fight), but he always had to pull out due to injuries and he ultimately had to finish his career due to an undisclosed illness.

In December 2012 Mavrović announced his return to professional boxing. A match with Serbian Cruiserweight boxer Enad Ličina was scheduled for April 2013, but after breaking a rib during training just a few weeks before the scheduled match his return was first delayed^[3] and than canceled.^[4]

Honors

His Golden Glove remains the biggest trophy in the history of Croatian heavyweight boxing, and he was named the Croatian sportsperson of the year twice. He was also distinctive for his Mohawk hairstyle, which led to a later nickname Irokez (Croatian for Iroquois).

Professional boxing record

27 Wins (22 knockouts, 5 decisions), 1 Losses (0 knockouts, 1 decision)
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	27–1	Lennox "The Lion" Lewis	UD	12	September 26, 1998	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States	WBC World Heavyweight Title. 109–119, 111–117, 112–117.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	27-0	Vincenzo Cantatore	TKO	4	October 18, 1997	Vienna, Austria	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	26-0	Lajos Eros	TKO	5	12/07/1997	Kensington, London, UK	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	25-0	Julius Francis	TKO	8	February 15, 1997	Vienna, Austria	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	24-0	Clifton Mitchell	TKO	2	02/11/1996	Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bayern, Germany	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	23-0	Mark Anthony Wills	RTD	8	June 22, 1996	Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	22–0	Christophe Bizot	UD	12	April 20, 1996	Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	21-0	Przemyslaw Saleta	KO	1	09/12/1995	Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	EBU Heavyweight Title. Saleta knocked out at 2:58 of the first round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	20-0	Michael Murray	KO	4	October 14, 1995	Munich, Bayern, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	19–0	Ken Smith	KO	2	June 17, 1995	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Smith knocked out at 2:55 of the second round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	18–0	Christophe Bizot	TKO	11	11/04/1995	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France	EBU Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	17-0	Mark "The Storm" Young	RTD	5	March 25, 1995	Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Young could not answer the bell for round six.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	16–0	Nathaniel Fitch	KO	1	11/02/1995	Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	15–0	Oleg Savenko	KO	3	November 26, 1994	Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	German International Heavyweight Title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	14-0	Marion "The Creep" Wilson	PTS	8	08/10/1994	Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	13-0	Jerry "T-Bone" Jones	PTS	10	September 17, 1994	Leverkusen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	12–0	James Pritchard	UD	10	June 18, 1994	Chicago, Illinois, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	11–0	Marshall Tillman	TKO	1	04/06/1994	Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	10-0	Jimmy "Million Dollar" Bills	KO	1	07/05/1994	Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	9-0	Mike "The Duke" Dixon	TKO	4	March 26, 1994	Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Referee stopped the bout at 1:25 of the fourth round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	8-0	Will "Hammer" Hinton	TKO	4	05/02/1994	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	7-0	Kimmuel Odum	PTS	8	11/12/1993	Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	6-0	David "Hand Grenade" Bey	TKO	4	October 16, 1993	Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	5-0	Marco van Spaendonck	TKO	1	September 18, 1993	Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Referee stopped the bout at 1:37 of the first round.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	4–0	Webster Vinson	KO	2	07/08/1993	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	3-0	John "Big Red" Morton	KO	3	June 26, 1993	Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	2-0	Chris Harbourne	TKO	1	01/05/1993	Berlin, Germany
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	1-0	Bruno Podgorny	TKO	3	March 20, 1993	Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Outside the Ring

After retirement he went into agricultural business. He opened "Eko-centar Mavrović" in Sloboština near Požega where he produces his own line of eco-friendly food.^[5] After initial success his business fell into financial problems in the early 2010s.

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Željko Mavrović from BoxRec
• Željko Mavrović at the Internet Movie Database
• Nedjeljom u dva – Željko Mavrović (07.04.2013)