{"id":891523,"date":"2026-09-14T09:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T09:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891523\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T09:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T09:24:20","slug":"mate-parlov-statue-unveiled-in-croatian-town-where-boxing-legend-spent-his-childhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891523\/","title":{"rendered":"Mate Parlov statue unveiled in Croatian town where boxing legend spent his childhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

by croatiaweek<\/a><\/p>\n

September 14, 2026<\/p>\n

in<\/p>\n

Sport<\/a> <\/p>\n

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(Photo: Grad Imotski)<\/p>\n

IMOTSKI, 14 September 2026 (Hina) \u2013 A 3.5-metre bronze statue honouring legendary Croatian boxer Mate Parlov, regarded as one of the country\u2019s greatest athletes of the 20th century, was unveiled on Saturday at the entrance to Gospin Dolac City Stadium in Imotski.<\/p>\n

The ceremony was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport Josip Pavi\u0107, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Bla\u017eenko Boban, Imotski Mayor Luka Kolovrat, representatives of the Croatian Boxing Federation and members of the Parlov family.<\/p>\n

Parlov was an Olympic, World and European champion before going on to become European and world professional champion. He was later named Croatia\u2019s greatest athlete of the 20th century in a poll of sports experts.<\/p>\n

The monument was created by sculptor Anto Jurki\u0107 and depicts Parlov in his recognisable victorious pose.<\/p>\n

State Secretary Josip Pavi\u0107 said he felt \u201cdeep happiness and gratitude\u201d that both he and Parlov had roots in the area. He described it as remarkable that such a sporting giant had come from the region.<\/p>\n

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(Photo: Grad Imotski)<\/p>\n

\u201cMate won everything,\u201d Pavi\u0107 said, adding that beyond his sporting achievements, Parlov had also won the hearts of people and could serve as an example for future generations, both in sport and in life.<\/p>\n

Pavi\u0107 thanked everyone involved in the initiative to erect the monument, as well as the Parlov family. He said the monument would remain a landmark for everyone, adding that its unveiling came at a particularly fitting time, with Croatian boxer Filip Hrgovi\u0107 now a world champion.<\/p>\n

Imotski Mayor Luka Kolovrat said choosing the location was \u201cabsolutely the right decision\u201d. The statue stands close to the Blue Lake, the Topana fortress and a monument dedicated to fallen Croatian defenders, creating what he described as a complete circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe circle closes with the greatest, with a world champion \u2013 as I said, the best athlete of the 20th century. That circle says a lot about this region, this city, the people of Imotski and this rugged landscape, which has never been fond of mediocrity,\u201d Kolovrat said.<\/p>\n

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(Photo: Grad Imotski)<\/p>\n

Parlov\u2019s son Matko said he was \u201cvery happy and proud\u201d that his father had returned to Imotski and that the statue had been placed at a location where he spent part of his childhood.<\/p>\n

From Gospin Dolac, there is a view towards the house where Parlov lived, around 100 metres from the statue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a man with a big heart. Everyone who knew him knew that,\u201d Matko Parlov said, adding that his father rarely spoke about boxing in his private life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave his whole self, his soul and body, for those 16 years during which he trained so hard and gave everything he had. He probably wanted to turn a new page and live, as I would say, a more normal life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Photo: Grad Imotski)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud. I am especially proud that it is here, at exactly the location where he lived through his childhood. It means a lot to us as a family,\u201d Matko Parlov said.<\/p>\n

\tSign up to receive the Croatia Week Newsletter <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by croatiaweek September 14, 2026 in Sport (Photo: Grad Imotski) IMOTSKI, 14 September 2026 (Hina) \u2013 A 3.5-metre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-891523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}