Mate Parlov

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.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Mate Parlov
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
Medal record
Representing  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
1972 Munich -81 kg
World Amateur Championships
1974 Havana -81 kg
European Amateur Championships
1969 Bucharest -75 kg
1971 Madrid -81 kg
1973 Belgrade -81 kg

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.[10]

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.[11]

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

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
  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 22 July 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. Mate Parlov. sports-reference.com
  10. Mate Parlov. BoxRec. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
  11. "Slobodna Dalmacija - Sugrađani legende: Mate je zadužio Istru, Hrvatsku i bivšu Jugoslaviju!". 30 July 2008.
  12. (in Slovene) Umrl boksarski šampion Mate Parlov. RTV Slovenia (30 July 2008)
  13. "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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