Željko Mavrović is a Croatian former professional boxer. In 1998, as an undefeated challenger, he faced Lennox Lewis for the WBCheavyweight title, but lost in what would be his final fight. After retiring from boxing, Mavrović became an entrepreneur.
Early years
Mavrović was born in Zagreb, in the neighbourhood 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 kgweight class.
Mavrović had 140 fights as an amateur, compiling an amateur record of 124 wins, 16 losses.
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. 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. Mavrović never fought again after this bout. In the next years he was a few times scheduled against quality opposition, 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 and than canceled. 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". 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.
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. After initial success his business fell into financial problems in the early 2010s.
