Željko Mavrović

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

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 (US) 6–9

Upon turning 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 "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 (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 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.

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).

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.