- Željko Mavrović
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Željko Mavrović 
Statistics Real name Željko Mavrović Nickname(s) Zed, Šaka sa Srednjaka Rated at Heavyweight Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Nationality 
CroatiaBorn February 17, 1969
Zagreb, CroatiaStance Orthodox, right-handed Boxing record Total fights 28 Wins 27 Wins by KO 22 Losses 1 Željko Mavrović (born February 17, 1969) is a retired male boxer from Croatia turned enterpreneur.
Contents
Background
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. Other Amateur accomplishments were:
- 1988 Olympic Games, Seoul, South Korea (Heavyweight)
- Lost to Baik Hyun-Man (South Korea) 0-5
- 1989 European Championships, Athens, Greece (Heavyweight)
- Lost-SD Axel Schulz (Germany)
- 1991 European Championships, Stockholm, Sweden (Heavyweight)
- Lost-PTS Arnold Vanderlijde (Netherlands)
- 1991 Mediterranean Games, Athens, Greece (Heavyweight): Gold Medal
- Final Match: Defeated Georgios Stefanopoulos points (Greece)
- 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain (Heavyweight)
- Defeated Mark Hulstrom (Denmark) 8-2
- Lost to Danell Nicholson (USA) 6-9
Professional career
When he turned professional, he became the boxing champion of Europe (EBU) in 1995 and kept his title in 1996 and 1997 against seven opponents.
In 1998, he went up against Lennox Lewis for the world heavyweight champion title, but lost after twelve rounds on points. Although he was outclassed by Lewis in the fight, his daring performance pulled appreciative comments from boxing insiders. Lewis' manager Frank Maloney said that "Mavrovic must have 240lb of steel in his chin" after the fight.[1] 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.[2]
Mavrovic 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.
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).
Outside the Ring
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.[3]
References
External links
- Professional boxing record for Željko Mavrović from BoxRec
- Željko Mavrović at the Internet Movie Database
Croatian Sportsman of the Year Duje Bonačić / Petar Šegvić / Mate Trojanović / Velimir Valenta (1952) · Perica Vlašić (1953) · Žarko Dolinar (1954) · Bernard Vukas (1955) · Krešo Račić (1956) · Hrvoje Kačić (1957) · Joško Murat (1958) · Duje Smoljanović (1959) · Željko Perušić (1960) · Boro Jovanović (1961) · Boro Jovanović / Nikola Pilić (1962) · Josip Gjergja (1963) · Nikola Pilić (1964) · Andro Depolo (1965) · Cvjetko Bilić (1966) · Nikola Pilić (1967) · Dragutin Šurbek (1968) · Dragutin Šurbek (1969) · Petar Skansi (1970) · Mate Parlov (1971) · Mate Parlov (1972) · Mate Parlov (1973) · Luciano Sušanj (1974) · Antun Stipančić (1975) · Matija Ljubek (1976) · Joško Alebić (1977) · Milan Janić (1978) · Dragutin Šurbek (1979) · Krešimir Ćosić (1980) · Dragutin Šurbek (1981) · Matija Ljubek (1982) · Dragutin Šurbek (1983) · Vlado Lisjak (1984) · Dražen Petrović (1985) · Dražen Petrović (1986) · Ivan Šabjan (1987) · Zoran Primorac (1988) · Toni Kukoč (1989) · Toni Kukoč (1990) · Toni Kukoč (1991) · Goran Ivanišević (1992) · Goran Ivanišević (1993) · Goran Ivanišević (1994) · Željko Mavrović (1995) · Goran Ivanišević (1996) · Željko Mavrović (1997) · Davor Šuker (1998) · Gordan Kožulj (1999) · Nikolaj Pešalov (2000) · Goran Ivanišević (2001) · Ivica Kostelić (2002) · Ivica Kostelić (2003) · Duje Draganja (2004) · Ivan Ljubičić (2005) · Ivan Ljubičić (2006) · Ivano Balić (2007) · Filip Ude (2008) · Ivica Kostelić (2009) · Ivica Kostelić (2010)
Categories:- 1969 births
- Croatian boxers
- Yugoslav boxers
- Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Olympic boxers of Croatia
- Olympic boxers of Yugoslavia
- Living people
- 1988 Olympic Games, Seoul, South Korea (Heavyweight)
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