Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

n boxer and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional.

Background

Mate Parlov was born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

, the youngest of four children in a

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

family originally from

Imotski Imotski (; it, Imoschi; lat, Emotha, later ''Imota'') is a small town on the northern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Imotski, like the surrounding inland ...

. In 1958, the family moved to

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the ...

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 Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He won the Golden Glove award twice, in 1967 and 1969. He participated in the

Munich 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...

, winning the gold medal in the light heavyweight division.Mate Parlov
sports-reference.com

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 The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an intern ...

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

Fažana Fažana (; Italian: ''Fasana,'' ) is a village and a municipality on the western coast of Istria, in Croatia. Yugoslavia's former President, Josip Broz Tito, was fond of Fažana and the Brijuni Islands The Brijuni () or the Brijuni Islands ...

near

, away from boxing and the public. In March 2008, he was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

, 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 The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; variant ...

Kip Mate Parlova u Fažani, rad Ante Jurkića

Honors and awards

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...

: 1967, 1969 * Croatian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1973 * Yugoslavian Sportsman of the Year: 1971, 1972, 1974 * Balkan Sportsman of the Year: 1974 *

Golden Badge ''Sport'' ( sr-Cyrl, Спорт) was a Serbian daily sports newspaper. The first edition was published on 5 May 1945 under the name ''Fiskultura'' and the last edition went out on 17 September 2016. Since the mid-2000s it was billed as "Dnevni ...

award for best athlete of

: 1972, 1974 * Istrian Sportsman of the 20th century * Croatian Sportsman of the 20th century * Lifetime Honorary President of Croatian Boxing Federation * WBC Honorary Champion: 2006 * Croatian Walk of Fame: 2008 * Mate Parlov Sport Centre, a multi-functional hall in

named after him since 2008 * In 2013 he was posthumously assigned the Order of Duke Branimir with necklace by the President of the Republic of Croatia * Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport - Award for Life Achievement: 2018 * A statue in his honour was unveiled in Fažana in 2018 * A newly discovered species of underground spider was named Harpactea mateparlovi in 2020 * A statue in his honour was unveiled in Pula in 2021

Amateur highlights

* Record: 310–13 * Eight-time champion of Yugoslavia * Five-time champion of the Balkans at the 1969 European Championships: Bucharest, Romania (Middleweight): * Defeated Ewald Jarmer (West Germany) by decision * Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision * Defeated

Reima Virtanen Reima Valdemar Virtanen (born 5 November 1947 in Kemi, Finnish Lapland) is a former boxer from Finland, who won the silver medal in the middleweight division (– 75 kg) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was nicknamed "Kila" and ...

(Finland) by decision * Lost to

Vladimir Tarasenko Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko (russian: Влади́мир Андре́евич Тарасе́нко; born 13 December 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hock ...

(Soviet Union) by decision Represented Yugoslavia at the 1968

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Mexico City, Mexico (Middleweight): * Defeated

Lahcen Ahidous Lahcen Ahidous (born 13 April 1945) is a Moroccan boxer. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olymp ...

(Morocco) by decision * Defeated

Jan van Ispelen Jan van Ispelen (born 12 April 1941 in Schönebeck) is a retired boxer, who was born in Germany but competed for the Netherlands. He represented Holland at the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he was defeated in the second round of the men's middlewei ...

(Netherlands) by decision * Lost to Chris Finnegan (England) by decision at the 1971 European Championships: Madrid, Spain (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated

Anthony Roberts Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970) is an Australian politician. He is the Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Minister for Planning (New South Wales), Minister for Planning and the Minister for Homes in the Perrottet ministry ...

(Wales) by decision * Defeated Vladimir Metelev (Soviet Union) RSC 2 * Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision * Defeated

Horst Stump Horst Adolf Stump (9 January 1944 – November 2018), also known as Horst Stumpf or Horst Stumf, was a Romanian amateur boxer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Early life Stump was born on 9 January 1944 in Sibiu, the 9th child of a Transylva ...

(Romania) by decision * Defeated

Ottomar Sachse Ottomar Sachse (born 15 April 1951) is an East German former boxer. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics in the light-heavyweight category. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, after a walkover against Louis Ngatchou ...

(East Germany) by decision at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany (Light Heavyweight): *Defeated Noureddine Aman Hassan (Chad) KO 2 *Defeated

Imre Toth Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry. ...

(Hungary) KO 2 *Defeated Miguel Angel Cuello (Argentina) by walkover *Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision *Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) RSC 2 at the 1973 European Championships: Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated

Michael Imrie Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(Scotland) RSC 1 * Defeated William Knight (England) RSC 3 * Defeated

Oleg Karatayev Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an Slavic peoples, East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' (Helge (name), Helge), meaning ...

(Soviet Union) RSC 2 * Defeated Janusz Gortat (Poland) by decision at the 1974 World Championships, Havanna, Cuba (Light Heavyweight): * Defeated Constantin Dafinoiu (Romania) by decision * Defeated Gilberto Carrillo (Cuba) by decision * Defeated

(East Germany) by decision * Defeated

(Soviet Union) RSC 2

Professional boxing record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label=Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Goritz ...

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Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

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Marsala Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

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Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

, align=left, , - align=center , Win , , align=left, Miguel Angel Cuello , KO , 9 , 7 January 1978 , align=left,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, Lombardy,

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Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

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Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

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Morges Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ''M ...

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Velenje Velenje (; german: Wöllan''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 272.) is Slovenia's sixth-largest city, and the seat of local government, ...

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Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

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, Lombardy,

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, Lombardy,

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

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, Lombardy,

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Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

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, Lombardy,

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References

External links

*
Olympiad Medal Results for 1972: Boxing 75-81kg (light-heavyweight) Men
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parlov, Mate 1948 births 2008 deaths Sportspeople from Split, Croatia Yugoslav male 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 Olympic medalists in boxing Deaths from lung cancer in Croatia Croatian male boxers European champions for Yugoslavia AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics