Mate Parlov

Mate Parlov
Data
Birth Name	Mate Parlov
Weight class	Semi-difficult
nationality	Croatian
birthday	November 16, 1948
place of birth	Split
Date of death	July 29, 2008
Place of death	Pula
style	Legal display
size	1.88 m
Combat Statistics
Knockout victories	12
Defeats	3
draw	2

Mate Parlov (born November 16, 1948 in Split , Republic of Croatia , Yugoslavia , † July 29, 2008 in Pula , Croatia ) was a Yugoslav boxer of Croatian nationality . He fought in middle and light heavyweight .

As an amateur boxer, he became 8-time Yugoslavian champion, 5-time Balkan champion, 2-time European champion, as well as world and Olympic champion. As a professional boxer, he won the European title of the European Boxing Union ( EBU ) and the world title of the World Boxing Council ( WBC ).

amateur

Southpaw Parlov was a very successful amateur. From 1967 to 1974 he won the Yugoslav championship eight times in a row, until 1970 in the middleweight division and then in the light heavyweight division. He won the Balkan Championship five times from 1970 to 1974.

In 1968 he took part in the Olympic Games in Mexico City , but was defeated by the eventual Olympic champion Christopher Finnegan in the quarterfinals of the middleweight division. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , he became Olympic champion. He achieved in the quarterfinals a win without a fight against the Argentinian Miguel Cuello , in the final he beat the Cuban Gilberto Carrillo prematurely.

He also took first place in the 1974 amateur world championships in Havana . There he prevailed again against Carrillo, Ottomar Sachse from the GDR and in the final battle against the Russian Oleg Georgijewitsch Korotajew .

Parlov also won two European championships. In 1969 in Bucharest he had to be content with a second place, but then won the European championships in 1971 in Madrid and 1973 in Belgrade . As an amateur, he played 310 fights with 13 defeats.

Amateur successes

• Amateur record: 297 wins - 13 losses

• 1967: Yugoslavian middleweight champion
• 1968: Yugoslavian middleweight champion
• 1968: 5th place in the middleweight division at the 19th Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City
• 1969: Yugoslavian middleweight champion
• 1969: Vice European Middleweight Champion at the 18th European Championships in Bucharest
• 1970: Yugoslavian middleweight champion
• 1970: Balkan middleweight champion at the 8th Balkan Championship in Varna
• 1971: Yugoslavian light heavyweight champion
• 1971: Balkan light heavyweight champion at the 9th Balkan Championship in Titograd (since 1992: Podgorica)
• 1971: European light heavyweight champion at the 19th European championship in Madrid
• 1972: Yugoslavian light heavyweight champion
• 1972: Balkan light heavyweight champion at the 10th Balkan Championship in Ankara
• 1972: Olympic light heavyweight champion at the 20th Summer Olympics in Munich
• 1973: Yugoslavian light heavyweight champion
• 1973: Balkan light heavyweight champion at the 11th Balkan Championship in Athens
• 1973: European light heavyweight champion at the 20th European Championships in Belgrade
• 1974: Yugoslavian light heavyweight champion
• 1974: Balkan light heavyweight champion at the 12th Balkan Championship in Constanța
• 1974: World light heavyweight champion at the 1st World Cup in Havana

professional

He turned professional in 1975 and was defeated in a build-up battle in May 1976 by eventual world champion Matthew Saad Muhammad on points, the rematch ended in a draw. In the same year he won the light heavyweight title of European champion, which he defended three times.

On January 7, 1978 in Milan he won a professional world championship title by knocking out the hard hitting Argentinean Miguel Cuello as the first boxer in a socialist country. He then beat the British John Conteh , but was still knocked out in 1978 against the powerful Marvin Johnson , also a southpaw.

Parlov had weight problems and tried cruiserweight . In two WBC title fights against Marvin Camel , he boxed only a draw in 1979, but lost the rematch in 1980 on points, whereupon he ended his career.

Professional success

• Professional balance: 24 wins - 3 losses - 2 draws

• July 10, 1976: European light heavyweight champion of the EBU (3 title defenses)
• January 7, 1978: WBC World Light Heavyweight Champion (1 title defense)

additional

In 2006 he was named honorary world champion by the President of the WBC Association.

In the 2007 Italian film Hermano , he played a boxing coach.

Parlov was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2008 and died of lung cancer in late July 2008.

The large sports hall in Pula was named after him after his death, see Dom sportova Mate Parlov .

In the small town of Fažana, which is near Pula, there is a statue with his name.

Web links

• Mate Parlov in the BoxRec database