Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian- Yugoslavian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional.

Background

Mate Parlov was born in Split, the youngest of four children in a Croatian family originally from

Imotski Imotski (; it, Imoschi; lat, Emotha, later ''Imota'') is a small town on the northern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Imotski, like the surrounding inland D ...

. In 1958, the family moved to

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

Amateur

In his amateur career he participated in 310 matches and lost 13. He was 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 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 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...

, winning the gold medal in the light heavyweight division.Mate Parlov
sports-reference.com

Professional career

Parlov won twelve of his first thirteen fights as a professional boxer 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, scheduled for eight rounds, he was defeated following the referee's decision. In a rematch, he and Muhammad struggled to a ten-round draw. After successfully defending the European title three times, he met

Miguel Angel Cuello --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...

in Milan for the

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world light-heavyweight title in January 1978. The two men had been scheduled to meet in the quarter-finals at the Munich Olympics, but Cuello withdrew due to an injury. Parlov knocked out Cuello in the ninth round to become the first professional world champion from a communist country. Parlov lost the title on his second defense and would later challenge for the world cruiser-weight title without success.

Retirement

In retirement, Parlov ran a coffee bar in Pula. He returned to boxing as coach of the Yugoslavian Olympic team prior to the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an intern ...

, when Yugoslav boxers achieved their best results ever: one gold, one silver and two bronzes. He later moved to Fažana near

, away from boxing and the public. In March 2008, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died four months later.

Private life

Mate Parlov was married to Laura Parlov with whom he had two children, daughter Mira and son Matko. He was an economist by profession, and had one graduate exam left before gaining the title of Master of Economics. Kip Mate Parlova u Fažani, rad Ante Jurkića

Kip Mate Parlova u Fažani, rad Ante Jurkića

Honors and awards

* Golden Gloves: 1967, 1969 * Croatian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1973 * Yugoslavian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1974 * Balkan Sportsman of the Year: 1974 *

Golden Badge ''Sport'' ( sr-Cyrl, Спорт) was a Serbian daily sports newspaper. The first edition was published on 5 May 1945 under the name ''Fiskultura'' and the last edition went out on 17 September 2016. Since the mid-2000s it was billed as "Dnevni s ...

award for best athlete of Yugoslavia: 1972, 1974 * Istrian Sportsman of the 20th century * Croatian Sportsman of the 20th century * Lifetime Honorary President of

Croatian Boxing Federation The Croatian Boxing Federation ( hr, Hrvatski boksački savez) is the governing body of amateur boxing in Croatia. It was established in 1921. It is a member organization of the Croatian Olympic Committee The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, ...

Honorary Champion: 2006 * Croatian Walk of Fame: 2008 *

Mate Parlov Sport Centre The Mate Parlov Sport Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sports arena located in Pula, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovin ...

, a multi-functional hall in

named after him since 2008 * In 2013 he was posthumously assigned the Order of Duke Branimir with necklace by the President of the Republic of Croatia * Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport - Award for Life Achievement: 2018 * A statue in his honour was unveiled in Fažana in 2018 * A newly discovered species of underground spider was named Harpactea mateparlovi in 2020 * A statue in his honour was unveiled in Pula in 2021

Amateur highlights

* Record: 310–13 * Eight-time champion of Yugoslavia * Five-time champion of the Balkans at the 1969 European Championships: Bucharest, Romania (Middleweight): * Defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) by decision * Defeated

Janusz Gortat Janusz Kazimierz Gortat (born November 5, 1948) is a retired boxer from Poland, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972. In both tournaments he won the bronze medal in the light heavywei ...

(Poland) by decision * Defeated

Reima Virtanen Reima Valdemar Virtanen (born 5 November 1947 in Kemi, Finnish Lapland) is a former boxer from Finland, who won the silver medal in the middleweight division (– 75 kg) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was nicknamed "Kila" and ...

(Finland) by decision * Lost to Vladimir Tarasenko (Soviet Union) by decision Represented Yugoslavia at the 1968

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Mexico City, Mexico (Middleweight): * Defeated

Lahcen Ahidous Lahcen Ahidous (born 13 April 1945) is a Moroccan boxer. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olymp ...

(Morocco) by decision * Defeated

Jan van Ispelen Jan van Ispelen (born 12 April 1941 in Schönebeck) is a retired boxer, who was born in Germany but competed for the Netherlands. He represented Holland at the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he was defeated in the second round of the men's middlewei ...

(Netherlands) by decision * Lost to Chris Finnegan (England) by decision at the 1971 European Championships: Madrid, Spain (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated Anthony Roberts (Wales) by decision * Defeated Vladimir Metelev (Soviet Union) RSC 2 * Defeated

(Poland) by decision * Defeated

Horst Stump Horst Adolf Stump (9 January 1944 – November 2018), also known as Horst Stumpf or Horst Stumf, was a Romanian amateur boxer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Early life Stump was born on 9 January 1944 in Sibiu, the 9th child of a Transylva ...

(Romania) by decision * Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) by decision at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany (Light Heavyweight): *Defeated Noureddine Aman Hassan (Chad) KO 2 *Defeated

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(Hungary) KO 2 *Defeated

(Argentina) by walkover *Defeated

(Poland) by decision *Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) RSC 2 at the 1973 European Championships: Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated

Michael Imrie Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(Scotland) RSC 1 * Defeated

William Knight William, Bill, or Billy Knight may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Frederick Knight (1933–2022), voice actor * William Henry Knight (1823–1863), British painter Politics * William Knight (died 1622), Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

(England) RSC 3 * Defeated

Oleg Karatayev Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an Slavic peoples, East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' (Helge (name), Helge), meaning ...

(Soviet Union) RSC 2 * Defeated

(Poland) by decision at the 1974 World Championships, Havanna, Cuba (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated Constantin Dafinoiu (Romania) by decision * Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) by decision * Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) by decision * Defeated

(Soviet Union) RSC 2

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 24 Wins (12 knockouts, 12 decisions), 3 Losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions), 2 DrawsMate Parlov
BoxRec. Retrieved on 19 April 2016. , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , , align=left, Marvin Camel , UD , 15 , 31 March 1980 , align=left, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , align=left, , - align=center , style="background: #dae2f1", Draw , , align=left, Marvin Camel , PTS , 15 , 8 December 1979 , align=left, Split, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Tony Mundine , PTS , 12 , 26 September 1979 , align=left, Gorizia,

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, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Joe Maye , KO , 5 , 28 July 1979 , align=left, Munich, Bavaria, West Germany , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , , align=left, Marvin Johnson , TKO , 10 , 2 December 1978 , align=left,

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, Sicily, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, John Conteh , , 15 , 17 June 1978 , align=left,

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, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Tony Greene , TKO , 6 , 28 April 1978 , align=left, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left,

, KO , 9 , 7 January 1978 , align=left, Milan,

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, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Leo Kakolewicz , TKO , 6 , 21 August 1977 , align=left,

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Harald Skog , , 15 , 9 July 1977 , align=left, Basel,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Francois Fiol , PTS , 15 , 5 April 1977 , align=left, Morges,

, align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Christian Poncelet , PTS , 10 , 5 March 1977 , align=left, Velenje, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , style="background: #dae2f1", Draw , , align=left, Matthew Saad Muhammad , , 10 , 3 December 1976 , align=left, Trieste,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Aldo Traversaro , PTS , 15 , 15 October 1976 , align=left, Milan,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Al Bolden , KO , 9 , 11 September 1976 , align=left, Zagreb, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Domenico Adinolfi , TKO , 11 , 10 July 1976 , align=left,

, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , , align=left, Matthew Saad Muhammad , PTS , 8 , 21 May 1976 , align=left, Milan,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Maile Haumona , PTS , 10 , 20 March 1976 , align=left, Melbourne, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Sentiki Qata , PTS , 10 , 6 March 1976 , align=left,

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, New South Wales,

, align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Macka Foley , TKO , 2 , 6 February 1976 , align=left, Trieste,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Onelio Grando , PTS , 8 , 26 December 1975 , align=left,

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, Emilia-Romagna, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Billy Freeman , PTS , 10 , 22 November 1975 , align=left, Skopje, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Karl Zurheide , KO , 1 , 30 October 1975 , align=left, Milan,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Johnny Griffin , TKO , 5 , 6 October 1975 , align=left, Zagreb, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Jose Evaristo Gomez , PTS , 8 , 13 September 1975 , align=left,

, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Jose Galvez Vasquez , , 8 , 22 August 1975 , align=left, Split, Yugoslavia , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Horst Lang , KO , 1 , 12 July 1975 , align=left,

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, Liguria, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Robert Amory , , 5 , 20 June 1975 , align=left, Milan,

, Italy , align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Dante Lazzari , , 1 , 31 May 1975 , align=left, Opatija, Yugoslavia , align=left,

References

External links

*
Olympiad Medal Results for 1972: Boxing 75-81kg (light-heavyweight) Men
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parlov, Mate 1948 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Split, Croatia Yugoslav male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers Olympic boxers of Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia Boxers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics World boxing champions Olympic medalists in boxing Deaths from lung cancer in Croatia Croatian male boxers European champions for Yugoslavia AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics