Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Parlov in 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Mate Parlov 16 November 1948 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 July 2008 (aged 59) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Croat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | light heavyweight, cruiserweight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Southpaw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No contests | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Yugoslav boxer of Croatian origin, and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as amateur and as professional. Parlov is the greatest Croatian boxer of all time, and the Croatian sportsman of the 20th century.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Background
Mate Parlov was born in Split, but his origins were from the village of Ričice near the town of Imotski.
Amateur
In his amateur career he participated in 310 matches and lost 13.[8] He was an 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 the 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 and won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division.[9]
Professional career
Parlov took the opportunity to turn professional and won twelve of his first thirteen fights 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, which was arranged for eight rounds, he was defeated following the referee's decision. In a rematch with Muhammad, they struggled to a ten-round draw. After defending the European title three times, he met Miguel Angel Cuello 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 the Cuello in the ninth round in Milan 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 his coffee bar in Pula. He returned to boxing before the 1984 Olympics, where he was the Yugoslav boxing coach.[9] At those Olympics, 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 a lung cancer, and died four months later.
Honors and awards
- Golden Gloves: 1967, 1969
- Croatian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1973
- Yugoslavian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1974
- Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia: 1972, 1974
- Croatian Sportsman of the 20th century[9][11]
- Lifetime Honorary President of Croatian Boxing Federation
- WBC Honorary Champion: 2006
- Croatian Walk of Fame: 2008
- Mate Parlov Sport Centre
Amateur highlights
- Record: 310–13
- Eight-time champion of Yugoslavia
- Five-time champion of the Balkans
1969 – European Championships: Bucharest, Romania: Silver Medal (Middleweight)
- Defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) PTS
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Reima Virtanen (Finland) PTS
- Lost to Vladimir Tarassenko (Soviet Union) PTS
- Represented Yugoslavia as a Middleweight at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Defeated Lahcen Ahidous (Mauritania) PTS
- Defeated Jan van Ispelen (Netherlands) PTS
- Lost to Chris Finnegan (England) PTS (Finnegan would win the gold medal)
- 1971 – European Championships: Madrid, Spain: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Anthony Roberts (Wales) PTS
- Defeated Vladimir Metelev (Soviet Union) TKO 2
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Horst Stump (Romania) PTS
- Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) PTS
- Won the Light Heavyweight Gold medal for Yugoslavia at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.
- Defeated Nouredine Aman Hassan (Chad) KO 2
- Defeated Imre Toth (Hungary) KO 2
- Defeated Miguel Angel Cuello (Argentina) Forfeit
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) TKO 2
- 1973 – European Championships: Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Michael Imrie (Scotland) TKO 1
- Defeated William Knight (England) TKO 3
- Defeated Oleg Karatayev (Soviet Union) TKO 2
- Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) PTS
- 1974 – World Championships, Havanna, Cuba: Gold Medal (Light Heavyweight)
- Defeated Constantin Dafinoiu (Romania) PTS
- Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) PTS
- Defeated Ottomar Sachse (East Germany) PTS
- Defeated Oleg Karatayev (Poland) TKO 2
Professional boxing record
References
- ^ Giuliano Lebanore. Parlov: Mislim da će sve proć' dobro. boks-savez.hr
- ^ IN MEMORIAM: MATE PARLOV / Odlazak boksača koji je volio pjesnike. gloria.com.hr
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Mate Parlov se bori s teškom bolesti pluća – Vijesti. Index.hr (31 March 2008). Retrieved on 2016-04-19.
- ^ Nina Tomljanović; Petra Horvat (30 July 2008). "Umro Mate Parlov" (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Umro Mate Parlov. vjesnik.hr (30 July 2008)
- ^ Home | Radio 101. Radio101.hr. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
- ^ Mate Parlov. BoxRec. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Mate Parlov. sports-reference.com
- ^ a b Mate Parlov. BoxRec. Retrieved on 19 April 2016.
- ^ Template:Sl icon Umrl boksarski šampion Mate Parlov. RTV Slovenia (30 July 2008)
External links
- Boxing record for Mate Parlov from BoxRec (registration required)
- Olympiad Medal Results for 1972: Boxing 75-81kg (light-heavyweight) Men
1920–1936: 160–175 lb (72.6–79.4 kg) · 1948: 73–80 kg · 1952–2012: 75–81 kg · 2016–: 76-81 kg | |
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- 1948 births
- 2008 deaths
- Sportspeople from Split, Croatia
- Yugoslav boxers
- Croatian 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
- Deaths from lung cancer
- Olympic medalists in boxing
- Deaths from cancer in Croatia
- Male boxers
- European champions for Yugoslavia
- AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics