Mate Parlov

Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov 1972.jpg
Parlov in 1972
Statistics
Real nameMate Parlov
Weight(s)light heavyweight, cruiserweight
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
NationalityYugoslavian
Born(1948-11-16)16 November 1948
Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Died29 July 2008(2008-07-29) (aged 59)
Pula, Croatia
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights29
Wins24
Wins by KO12
Losses3
Draws2
No contests0

Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian boxer, 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. In 1958, the family moved to Pula.

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, winning the gold medal in the light heavyweight division.

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

Statue of Mate Parlov in Fažana

Honors and awards

Amateur highlights

  • Record: 310–13
  • Eight-time champion of Yugoslavia
  • Five-time champion of the Balkans

 Silver at the 1969 European Championships: Bucharest, Romania (Middleweight):

Represented Yugoslavia at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico (Middleweight):

 Gold at the 1971 European Championships: Madrid, Spain (Light Heavyweight):

  • Defeated Anthony Roberts (Wales) by decision
  • Defeated Vladimir Metelev (Soviet Union) RSC 2
  • Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision
  • Defeated Horst Stump (Romania) by decision
  • Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) by decision

 Gold at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany (Light Heavyweight):

 Gold at the 1973 European Championships: Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Light Heavyweight):

  • Defeated Michael Imrie (Scotland) RSC 1
  • Defeated William Knight (England) RSC 3
  • Defeated Oleg Karatayev (Soviet Union) RSC 2
  • Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision

 Gold at the 1974 World Championships, Havanna, Cuba (Light Heavyweight):

Professional boxing record

24 Wins (12 knockouts, 12 decisions), 3 Losses (1 knockout, 2 decisions), 2 Draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 24–3–2 United States Marvin Camel UD 15 31 March 1980 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
Draw 24–2–2 United States Marvin Camel PTS 15 8 December 1979 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Split, Yugoslavia For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
Win 24–2–1 Australia Tony Mundine PTS 12 26 September 1979 Italy Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy WBC World Cruiserweight title eliminator.
Win 23–2–1 United States Joe Maye KO 5 28 July 1979 Germany Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
Loss 22–2–1 United States Marvin Johnson TKO 10 2 December 1978 Italy Marsala, Sicily, Italy Lost WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
Win 22–1–1 United Kingdom John Conteh SD 15 17 June 1978 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Belgrade, Yugoslavia Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
Win 21–1–1 United States Tony Greene TKO 6 28 April 1978 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
Win 20–1–1 Argentina Miguel Angel Cuello KO 9 7 January 1978 Italy Milan, Lombardy, Italy Won WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
Win 19–1–1 Germany Leo Kakolewicz TKO 6 21 August 1977 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Rijeka, Yugoslavia
Win 18–1–1 Norway Harald Skog UD 15 9 July 1977 Switzerland Basel, Switzerland Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
Win 17–1–1 Spain Francois Fiol PTS 15 5 April 1977 Switzerland Morges, Switzerland Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
Win 16–1–1 France Christian Poncelet PTS 10 5 March 1977 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Velenje, Yugoslavia
Draw 15–1–1 United States Matthew Saad Muhammad PTS 10 3 December 1976 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Win 15–1 Italy Aldo Traversaro PTS 15 15 October 1976 Italy Milan, Lombardy, Italy Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
Win 14–1 United States Al Bolden KO 9 11 September 1976 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zagreb, Yugoslavia
Win 13–1 Italy Domenico Adinolfi TKO 11 10 July 1976 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Belgrade, Yugoslavia Won EBU Light Heavyweight title.
Loss 12–1 United States Matthew Saad Muhammad PTS 8 21 May 1976 Italy Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Win 12–0 Tonga Maile Haumona PTS 10 20 March 1976 Australia Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Win 11–0 Fiji Sentiki Qata PTS 10 6 March 1976 Australia Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win 10–0 United States Macka Foley TKO 2 6 February 1976 Italy Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Win 9–0 Italy Onelio Grando PTS 8 26 December 1975 Italy Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Win 8–0 United States Billy Freeman PTS 10 22 November 1975 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Skopje, Yugoslavia
Win 7–0 United States Karl Zurheide KO 1 30 October 1975 Italy Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Win 6–0 United States Johnny Griffin TKO 5 6 October 1975 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zagreb, Yugoslavia
Win 5–0 Argentina Jose Evaristo Gomez PTS 8 13 September 1975 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Pula, Yugoslavia
Win 4–0 Spain Jose Galvez Vasquez PTS 8 22 August 1975 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Split, Yugoslavia
Win 3–0 Germany Horst Lang KO 1 12 July 1975 Italy Arenzano, Liguria, Italy
Win 2–0 France Robert Amory TKO 5 20 June 1975 Italy Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Win 1–0 Italy Dante Lazzari KO 1 31 May 1975 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Opatija, Yugoslavia

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-02-06 04:19 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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