Željko Mavrović

Željko Mavrović (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ˈʒěːʎko ˈmɑːvroʋitɕ]; ZHEL-koh MAV-ro-witch; born 17 February 1969) is a Croatian former professional boxer. In 1998, as an undefeated challenger, he faced Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title, but lost in what would be his final fight. After retiring from boxing, Mavrović became an entrepreneur.

Željko Mavrović
Mavrović in 2008
Statistics
Real nameŽeljko Mavrović
Nickname(s)Zed
Šaka sa Srednjaka (Fist from Srednjaci)
Irokez (Iroquois)
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
NationalityCroatian
Born (1969-02-17) 17 February 1969
Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights28
Wins27
Wins by KO22
Losses1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Yugoslavia
Mediterranean Games
1991 Athens Heavyweight

Early years

Mavrović was born in Zagreb, in the neighbourhood Srednjaci (which is the source of his nickname Šaka sa Srednjaka or Fist from Srednjaci).

Amateur career

As an amateur boxer, Mavrović was the Mediterranean champion in 1991 and Croatian champion in 1991 and 1992. He quickly progressed from the 75 to the 91 kg weight class.

Highlights

Mavrović had 140 fights as an amateur, compiling an amateur record of 124 wins, 16 losses.[1]

Professional career

Upon turning professional, he won the EBU Champion of Europe title in 1995, and kept his title in 1996 and 1997 defending it seven times.

In 1998, he went up against Lennox Lewis for the world heavyweight champion title, but lost after twelve rounds via unanimous decision 119–109, 117–112, and 117–111. Although he was outclassed by Lewis in the fight, his daring performance pulled appreciative comments from boxing insiders. Lewis' manager Frank Maloney said that "Mavrović must have 240lb of steel in his chin" after the fight.[2] Lewis described the fight as the most awkward win of his career, citing sauna-like conditions in the ring, as well as Mavrović's agility, motivation and preparedness.[3]

Mavrović never fought again after this bout. In the next years he was a few times scheduled against quality opposition (like for example against Hasim Rahman in 1999 where his late replacement Oleg Maskaev then knocked Rahman out of the ring in a well remembered fight), but he always had to pull out due to injuries and he ultimately had to finish his career due to an undisclosed illness.

In December 2012 Mavrović announced his return to professional boxing. A match with Serbian Cruiserweight boxer Enad Ličina was scheduled for April 2013, but after breaking a rib during training just a few weeks before the scheduled match his return was first delayed[4] and than canceled.[5]

Mavrović served as a boxing director for the Croatian Boxing Federation during the 2014 European Youth Boxing Championships in Zagreb. He was quoted after the incident where Croatian boxer Vido Loncar assaulted and seriously injured a referee after a loss, excusing Loncar with the argument "I believe that he is not a butcher or as bad as this act makes him look. This was part of his excessive ambition in that moment".[6] Loncar was subsequently banned from boxing for life.

Honors

His Golden Glove remains the biggest trophy in the history of Croatian heavyweight boxing, and he was named the Croatian sportsperson of the year twice. He was also distinctive for his Mohawk hairstyle, which led to a later nickname Irokez (Croatian for Iroquois).

Professional boxing record
27 Wins (22 knockouts, 5 decisions), 1 Losses (0 knockouts, 1 decision)
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 27–1 Lennox Lewis UD 12 26 Sep 1998 Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, United States For WBC heavyweight title
Win 27–0 Vincenzo Cantatore TKO 4 18 October 1997 Vienna, Austria EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 26–0 Lajos Eros TKO 5 12/07/1997 Kensington, London, UK EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 25–0 Julius Francis TKO 8 15 February 1997 Vienna, Austria EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 24–0 Clifton Mitchell TKO 2 02/11/1996 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bayern, Germany EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 23–0 Mark Anthony Wills RTD 8 22 June 1996 Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win 22–0 Christophe Bizot UD 12 20 April 1996 Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 21–0 Przemyslaw Saleta KO 1 09/12/1995 Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany EBU Heavyweight Title. Saleta knocked out at 2:58 of the first round.
Win 20–0 Michael Murray KO 4 14 October 1995 Munich, Bayern, Germany
Win 19–0 Ken Smith KO 2 17 June 1995 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Smith knocked out at 2:55 of the second round.
Win 18–0 Christophe Bizot TKO 11 11/04/1995 Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 17–0 Mark Young RTD 5 25 March 1995 Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Young could not answer the bell for round six.
Win 16–0 Nathaniel Fitch KO 1 11/02/1995 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Win 15–0 Oleg Savenko KO 3 26 November 1994 Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany German International Heavyweight Title.
Win 14–0 Marion Wilson PTS 8 08/10/1994 Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Win 13–0 Jerry Jones PTS 10 17 September 1994 Leverkusen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win 12–0 James Pritchard UD 10 18 June 1994 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 11–0 Marshall Tillman TKO 1 04/06/1994 Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win 10–0 Jimmy Bills KO 1 07/05/1994 Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Win 9–0 Mike Dixon TKO 4 26 March 1994 Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Referee stopped the bout at 1:25 of the fourth round.
Win 8–0 Will Hinton TKO 4 05/02/1994 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 7–0 Kimmuel Odum PTS 8 11/12/1993 Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win 6–0 David Bey TKO 4 16 October 1993 Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Win 5–0 Marco van Spaendonck TKO 1 18 September 1993 Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Referee stopped the bout at 1:37 of the first round.
Win 4–0 Webster Vinson KO 2 07/08/1993 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 3–0 John Morton KO 3 26 June 1993 Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany
Win 2–0 Chris Harbourne TKO 1 01/05/1993 Berlin, Germany
Win 1–0 Bruno Podgorny TKO 3 20 March 1993 Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Professional debut.

Retirement and later years

After retirement he went into agricultural business. He opened "Eko-centar Mavrović" in Sloboština near Požega where he produces his own line of eco-friendly food.[7] After initial success his business fell into financial problems in the early 2010s.

References
  1. Željko Mavrović Amateur Record at the BoxingRecords. Last updated : April 12, 2006.
  2. Boxing: Lewis less than a knockout in US
  3. Lennox Lewis: Consummate Cool
  4. "Mavrović u Nu2: Puklo mi je rebro, odgađam povratak!" (in Croatian). tportal. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  5. "ISPOVIJEST ŽELJKA MAVROVIĆA 'Nisam samoubojica! Odustajem. Imam ženu i djecu!'" (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  6. "Boxer banned after brutal attack on referee". Sky Sports. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  7. Eko-Mavrović homepage
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