Mate Parlov

Mate Parlov

Statistics
Real name	Mate Parlov
Rated at	light heavyweight, cruiserweight
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Nationality	Croat
Born	(1948-11-16)November 16, 1948 Split, SFR Yugoslavia
Died	July 29, 2008(2008-07-29) (aged 59) Pula, Croatia
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	29
Wins	24
Wins by KO	12
Losses	3
Draws	2
No contests	0

Mate Parlov
Medal record

Men's Boxing
Competitor for Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Gold	1972 Munich	Light Heavyweight
World Amateur Championships
Gold	1974 Havana	Light Heavyweight
European Amateur Championships
Silver	1969 Bucharest	Middleweight
Gold	1971 Madrid	Light Heavyweight
Gold	1973 Belgrade	Light Heavyweight

Mate Parlov (November 16, 1948 – July 29, 2008) was a Yugoslavian and Croatian boxer, and an Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as amateur and as professional. Parlov is universally regarded as the greatest Croatian boxer of all time, as well as one of the greatest Croatian sportspeople of the 20th century.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Background

Mate Parlov was born in Split, but his origins were from the village of Ričice near the town of Imotski.

Amateur

In his amateur career he participated in 276 matches and lost only 19.^[8] During his amateur career, Parlov was an eight-time champion of Yugoslavia in the light heavyweight category (1967-1974), five-time champion of the Balkans (1970-1974), two-time champion of Europe (1971 in Madrid, and 1973 in Belgrade) and the world champion at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba. He won the Golden Glove award twice, in 1967 and 1969. He participated in the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division.

Professional career

Parlov took the opportunity to turn professional and won twelve of his first thirteen fights before successfully challenging for the European light-heavyweight title. In 1976 he faced the future world champion Matthew Saad Muhammad. In their first fight in Milan, which was arranged for eight rounds, he was defeated following the referee's decision. In a rematch with Muhammad, they struggled to a ten round draw. After defending the European title three times, he met Miguel Angel Cuello for the WBC World light-heavyweight title in January 1978. The two men had been scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals at the Munich Olympics, but Cuetto had been forced to withdraw injured. Parlov knocked out the Argentine in the ninth round in Milan to become the first professional world champion coming from a communist country. Parlov lost the title on his second defense and would later challenge for the World cruiser-weight title without success.

After boxing

His final contact with boxing was in 1984 Olympics, when he was the Yugoslav coach. At those Olympics, Yugoslav boxers achieved their best results ever: one gold, one silver and two bronzes.

After he ended his active boxing career, he moved to Fažana near Pula, away from boxing and the public. He ran his coffee bar in Pula.

Death

In March 2008, Parlov was diagnosed as having lung cancer. He died four months later.

Honors and awards

Golden Gloves: 1967, 1969
Croatian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1973
Yugoslavian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1974
Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia: 1972, 1974
Croatian Sportsman of the 20th century ^[9]
Lifetime Honorary President of Croatian Boxing Federation
WBC Honorary Champion: 2006 ^[10]
Croatian Walk of Fame: 2008
Mate Parlov Sport Centre

Amateur highlights

Record: 257–19

Eight-time champion of Yugoslavia

Five-time champion of the Balkans

1973 - European Championships: Bucharest, Romania: Silver Medal (Middleweight)
- Defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) PTS
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Reima Virtanen (Finland) PTS
- Lost to Vladimir Tarasenkov (Soviet Union) PTS
Represented Yugoslavia as a Middleweight at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Defeated Lahcen Ahidous (Mauritania) PTS
- Defeated Jan van Ispelen (Netherlands) PTS
- Lost to Chris Finnegan (England) PTS (Finnegan would win the gold medal)

1971 - European Championships: Madrid, Spain: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Anthony Roberts (Wales) PTS
- Defeated Vladimir Metelev (Soviet Union) TKO 2
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Horst Stump (Romania) PTS
- Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) PTS

Won the Light Heavyweight Gold medal for Yugoslavia at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.
- Defeated Nouredine Aman Hassan (Chad) KO 2
- Defeated Imre Toth (Hungary) KO 2
- Defeated Miguel Angel Cuello (Argentina) Forfeit
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) TKO 2

1973 - European Championships: Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Michael Imrie (Scotland) TKO 1
- Defeated William Knight (England) TKO 3
- Defeated Oleg Karatayev (Soviet Union) TKO 2
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS

1974 - World Championships, Havanna, Cuba: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Constantin Dafinoiu (Romania) PTS
- Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) PTS
- Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) PTS
- Defeated Oleg Karatayev (Poland) TKO 2

Professional boxing record

24 Wins (12 knockouts, 12 decisions), 3 Losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions), 2 Draws ^[11]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" \|Loss	24-3-2	Marvin Camel	UD	15	31/03/1980	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
Draw	24-2-2	Marvin Camel	PTS	15	08/12/1979	Split, Yugoslavia	For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	24-2-1	Tony Mundine	PTS	12	26/09/1979	Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy	WBC World Cruiserweight title eliminator.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	23-2-1	Joe Maye	KO	5	28/07/1979	Munich, Bayern, West Germany
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" \|Loss	22-2-1	Marvin Johnson	TKO	10	02/12/1978	Marsala, Sicilia, Italy	Lost WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	22-1-1	John Conteh	SD	15	17/06/1978	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	21-1-1	Tony Greene	TKO	6	28/04/1978	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	20-1-1	Miguel Angel Cuello	KO	9	07/01/1978	Milan, Lombardia, Italy	Won WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	19-1-1	Leo Kakolewicz	TKO	6	21/08/1977	Rijeka, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	18-1-1	Harald Skog	UD	15	09/07/1977	Basel, Switzerland	Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	17-1-1	Francois Fiol	PTS	15	05/04/1977	Morges, Switzerland	Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	16-1-1	Christian Poncelet	PTS	10	05/03/1977	Velenje, Yugoslavia
Draw	15-1-1	Matthew Saad Muhammad	PTS	10	03/12/1976	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	15-1	Aldo Traversaro	PTS	15	15/10/1976	Milan, Lombardia, Italy	Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	14-1	Al Bolden	KO	9	11/09/1976	Zagreb, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	13-1	Domenico Adinolfi	TKO	11	10/07/1976	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Won EBU Light Heavyweight title.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" \|Loss	12-1	Matthew Saad Muhammad	PTS	8	21/05/1976	Milan, Lombardia, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	12-0	Maile Haumona	PTS	10	20/03/1976	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	11-0	Sentiki Qata	PTS	10	06/03/1976	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	10-0	Macka Foley	TKO	2	06/02/1976	Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	9-0	Onelio Grando	PTS	8	26/12/1975	Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	8-0	Billy Freeman	PTS	10	22/11/1975	Skopje, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	7-0	Karl Zurheide	KO	1	30/10/1975	Milan, Lombardia, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	6-0	Johnny Griffin	TKO	5	06/10/1975	Zagreb, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	5-0	Jose Evaristo Gomez	PTS	8	13/09/1975	Pula, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	4-0	Jose Galvez Vasquez	PTS	8	22/08/1975	Split, Yugoslavia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	3-0	Horst Lang	KO	1	12/07/1975	Arenzano, Liguria, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	2-0	Robert Amory	TKO	5	20/06/1975	Milan, Lombardia, Italy
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	1-o	Dante Lazzari	KO	1	31/05/1975	Opatija, Yugoslavia

References

↑ http://www.boks-savez.hr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid=128
↑ http://www.gloria.com.hr/vijesti/showpage.php?id=5661
↑ http://www.sportske.hr/Default.aspx?sid=15422
↑ http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/mate-parlov-se-bori-s-teskom-bolesti-pluca/380708.aspx
↑ Nina Tomljanović; Petra Horvat (30 July 2008). "Umro Mate Parlov" [Mate Parlov dies] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
↑ http://www.vjesnik.hr/Html/2008/07/30/Clanak.asp?r=spo&c=1
↑ http://www.radio101.hr/?section=1&page=3&item=32023
↑ http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:18207
↑ (Slovene) RTV Slovenia Umrl boksarski šampion Mate Parlov
↑ Boxing News and Views World Boxing Council News
↑ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=18207&cat=boxer

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Miguel Angel Cuello	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 7 January 1978 – 2 December 1978	Succeeded by Marvin Johnson
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miroslav Cerar Marijan Beneš	Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year 1971, 1972 1974	Succeeded by Marijan Beneš Nenad Stekić
Preceded by Sreten Damjanović Marijan Beneš	The Best Athlete of Yugoslavia 1972 1974	Succeeded by Marijan Beneš Nenad Stekić

Olympic Boxing Champions in Men's Light Heavyweight

1920-1936: 160-175 lb (72.6-79.4 kg), 1948: 73-80 kg 1952-2012: 75-81 kg

1920: Eddie Eagan (USA) 1924: Harry Mitchell (GBR) 1928: Víctor Avendaño (ARG) 1932: David Carstens (RSA) 1936: Roger Michelot (FRA) 1948: George Hunter (RSA) 1952: Norvel Lee (USA) 1956: James Boyd (USA) 1960: Cassius Clay (USA) 1964: Cosimo Pinto (ITA) 1968: Danas Pozniakas (URS) 1972: Mate Parlov (YUG) 1976: Leon Spinks (USA) 1980: Slobodan Kačar (YUG) 1984: Anton Josipović (YUG) 1988: Andrew Maynard (USA) 1992: Torsten May (GER) 1996: Vassiliy Jirov (KAZ) 2000: Aleksandr Lebziak (RUS) 2004: Andre Ward (USA) 2008: Zhang Xiaoping (CHN) 2012: Egor Mekhontsev (RUS)

World Amateur Boxing Champions in Men's Light Heavyweight

1974 – 2011: up to 81 kg

1974: Mate Parlov (YUG) 1978: Sixto Soria (CUB) 1982: Pablo Romero (CUB) 1986: Pablo Romero (CUB) 1989: Henry Maske (GDR) 1991: Torsten May (GER) 1993: Ramón Garbey (CUB) 1995: Antonio Tarver (USA) 1997: Aleksandr Lebziak (RUS) 1999: Michael Simms (USA) 2001: Yevgeniy Makarenko (RUS) 2003: Yevgeniy Makarenko (RUS) 2005: Yerdos Zhanabergenov (KAZ) 2007: Abbos Atoev (UZB) 2009: Artur Beterbiyev (RUS) 2011: Julio César la Cruz (CUB) 2013: Julio César la Cruz (CUB)

Croatian Sportsman of the Year

Duje Bonačić / Petar Šegvić / Mate Trojanović / Velimir Valenta (1952)
Perica Vlašić (1953)
Žarko Dolinar (1954)
Bernard Vukas (1955)
Krešo Račić (1956)
Hrvoje Kačić (1957)
Joško Murat (1958)
Duje Smoljanović (1959)
Željko Perušić (1960)
Boro Jovanović (1961)
Boro Jovanović / Nikola Pilić (1962)
Josip Gjergja (1963)
Nikola Pilić (1964)
Andro Depolo (1965)
Cvjetko Bilić (1966)
Nikola Pilić (1967)
Dragutin Šurbek (1968)
Dragutin Šurbek (1969)
Petar Skansi (1970)
Mate Parlov (1971)
Mate Parlov (1972)
Mate Parlov (1973)
Luciano Sušanj (1974)
Antun Stipančić (1975)
Matija Ljubek (1976)
Joško Alebić (1977)
Milan Janić (1978)
Dragutin Šurbek (1979)
Krešimir Ćosić (1980)
Dragutin Šurbek (1981)
Matija Ljubek (1982)
Dragutin Šurbek (1983)
Vlado Lisjak (1984)
Dražen Petrović (1985)
Dražen Petrović (1986)
Ivan Šabjan (1987)
Zoran Primorac (1988)
Toni Kukoč (1989)
Toni Kukoč (1990)
Toni Kukoč (1991)
Goran Ivanišević (1992)
Goran Ivanišević (1993)
Goran Ivanišević (1994)
Željko Mavrović (1995)
Goran Ivanišević (1996)
Željko Mavrović (1997)
Davor Šuker (1998)
Gordan Kožulj (1999)
Nikolaj Pešalov (2000)
Goran Ivanišević (2001)
Ivica Kostelić (2002)
Ivica Kostelić (2003)
Duje Draganja (2004)
Ivan Ljubičić (2005)
Ivan Ljubičić (2006)
Ivano Balić (2007)
Filip Ude (2008)
Ivica Kostelić (2009)
Ivica Kostelić (2010)
Ivica Kostelić (2011)
Giovanni Cernogoraz (2012)
Mario Mandžukić (2013)
Marin Čilić (2014)