Mate Parlov
Parlov in 1972
Born
Mate Parlov

(1948-11-16)16 November 1948
Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Died29 July 2008(2008-07-29) (aged 59)
Pula, Croatia
NationalityYugoslavian
Statistics
Weight(s)light heavyweight, cruiserweight
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights29
Wins24
Wins by KO12
Losses3
Draws2
No contests0
Medal record
Representing  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich -81 kg
World Amateur Championships
Gold medal – first place 1974 Havana -81 kg
European Amateur Championships
Silver medal – second place 1969 Bucharest -75 kg
Gold medal – first place 1971 Madrid -81 kg
Gold medal – first place 1973 Belgrade -81 kg

Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian boxer and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Parlov was voted the Best Balkan Athlete of the Year for 1974.

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.[8] 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.[9]

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,[9] 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.[10]

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

29 fights 24 wins 3 losses
By knockout 12 1
By decision 12 2
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
29 Loss 24–3–2 Marvin Camel UD 15 31 March 1980 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
28 Draw 24–2–2 Marvin Camel PTS 15 8 December 1979 Sportski Centar Gripe, Split, Yugoslavia For inaugural WBC World Cruiserweight title.
27 Win 24–2–1 Tony Mundine PTS 12 26 September 1979 Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy WBC World Cruiserweight title eliminator.
26 Win 23–2–1 Joe Maye KO 5 28 July 1979 Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
25 Loss 22–2–1 Marvin Johnson TKO 10 2 December 1978 Palazzo Dello Sport, Marsala, Sicily, Italy Lost WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
24 Win 22–1–1 John Conteh SD 15 17 June 1978 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia Retained WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
23 Win 21–1–1 Tony Greene TKO 6 28 April 1978 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
22 Win 20–1–1 Miguel Ángel Cuello KO 9 7 January 1978 Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Lombardy, Italy Won WBC World Light Heavyweight title.
21 Win 19–1–1 Leo Kakolewicz TKO 6 21 August 1977 Rijeka, Yugoslavia
20 Win 18–1–1 Harald Skog UD 15 9 July 1977 Basel, Switzerland Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
19 Win 17–1–1 Francois Fiol PTS 15 5 April 1977 Morges, Switzerland Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
18 Win 16–1–1 Christian Poncelet PTS 10 5 March 1977 Velenje, Yugoslavia
17 Draw 15–1–1 Matthew Saad Muhammad PTS 10 3 December 1976 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
16 Win 15–1 Aldo Traversaro PTS 15 15 October 1976 Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Lombardy, Italy Retained EBU Light Heavyweight title.
15 Win 14–1 Al Bolden KO 9 11 September 1976 Zagreb, Yugoslavia
14 Win 13–1 Domenico Adinolfi TKO 11 10 July 1976 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Won EBU Light Heavyweight title.
13 Loss 12–1 Matthew Saad Muhammad PTS 8 21 May 1976 Palasport di San Siro, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
12 Win 12–0 Maile Haumona PTS 10 20 March 1976 Windsor Regis Hotel, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
11 Win 11–0 Sentiki Qata PTS 10 6 March 1976 Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
10 Win 10–0 Macka Foley TKO 2 6 February 1976 Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
9 Win 9–0 Onelio Grando PTS 8 26 December 1975 Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
8 Win 8–0 Billy Freeman PTS 10 22 November 1975 Skopje, Yugoslavia
7 Win 7–0 Karl Zurheide KO 1 30 October 1975 PalaLido, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
6 Win 6–0 Johnny Griffin TKO 5 6 October 1975 Zagreb, Yugoslavia
5 Win 5–0 Jose Evaristo Gomez PTS 8 13 September 1975 Pula, Yugoslavia
4 Win 4–0 Jose Galvez Vasquez PTS 8 22 August 1975 Split, Yugoslavia
3 Win 3–0 Horst Lang KO 1 12 July 1975 Arenzano, Liguria, Italy
2 Win 2–0 Robert Amory TKO 5 20 June 1975 Milan, Lombardy, Italy
1 Win 1–0 Dante Lazzari KO 1 31 May 1975 Opatija, Yugoslavia

See also

References

  1. ↑ Giuliano Lebanore. Parlov: Mislim da će sve proć' dobro. boks-savez.hr
  2. ↑ IN MEMORIAM: MATE PARLOV / Odlazak boksača koji je volio pjesnike. gloria.com.hr
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Mate Parlov se bori s teškom bolesti pluća – Vijesti. Index.hr (31 March 2008). Retrieved on 2016-04-19.
  5. ↑ Nina Tomljanović; Petra Horvat (30 July 2008). "Umro Mate Parlov" [Mate Parlov dies]. Nacional (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Umro Mate Parlov. vjesnik.hr (30 July 2008)
  7. ↑ Home | Radio 101. Radio101.hr. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Mate Parlov. BoxRec. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Mate Parlov. sports-reference.com
  10. ↑ "Slobodna Dalmacija - Sugrađani legende: Mate je zadužio Istru, Hrvatsku i bivšu Jugoslaviju!". 30 July 2008.
  11. ↑ (in Slovene) Umrl boksarski šampion Mate Parlov. RTV Slovenia (30 July 2008)
  12. ↑ "Nagrada "Franjo Bučar" za životno djelo Milki Babović, Vladimiru Jankoviću i posmrtno Mati Parlovu" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Radiotelevizija. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
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