By Per Ake Persson
Yugoslavian all-time great Mate Parlov has sadly passed away at the age of 60 on July 29 in a hospital in Pula, Croatia, where he resided. No cause of death have been announced but it is believed to be related to the lung cancer Parlov had been diagnosed with. Parlov was an outstanding amateur winning Olympic Gold at light heavyweight in 72, the European champ in 71 and 73 and World champ in 74. With around 300 amateur fights under his belt he turned pro in 75 and did very well although one might suspect he left his best days in the amateurs and Mate probably never could adjust his tricky, southpaw style to the pros.
Still, he beat John Conteh, Miguel Angel Cuello, Tony Mundine, lost and drew with Matthew Franklin (who later changed his name to Saad Muhammad) and lost to Marvin Johnson. He held the EBU light heavyweight title in 76-77 and then became WBC ruler in 78. Parlov also fought for the WBC cruiserweight title against Marvin Camel fighting to a draw the first time, then losing the rematch.
In 1980 he retired with a record of 24-3-2 and dropped out of boxing. In his later years he moved back to Pula where he owned a cafe. He didn´t follow boxing at all calling modern day pro-boxing a "circus" referring to the many titles. When there was a big show in Pula Parlov didn´t attend despite an invitation. The ring announcer still introduced him and Mate didn´t take it lightly. The champ did however accept the WBC Belt of Honor last year.
