Mario Preskar (born January 12, 1984) is a former Croatian professional heavyweight boxer. He trained at Leonardo Boxing Gym in Zagreb with his trainer Leonard Pijetraj.

Mario Preskar
Born
Mario Preskar

(1984-01-12) January 12, 1984 (age 40)
Nationality Croatia
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights19
Wins16
Wins by KO10
Losses0
Draws3
No contests0

Amateur career

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Preskar was born in Zagreb, Croatia. He began boxing at the age of 9[1] at the urging of his father Željko, a cab driver. Preskar became a seven-time Croatian national champion, his final amateur record was 45-5.[1]

Professional career

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Preskar started his professional career in 2003, at only 19, signing a contract with the world-famous boxing manager Don King.[2] King and Preskar parted ways in September 2008, with King reportedly unwilling to accept new contract terms put forward by Preskar and Pijetraj, who demanded more frequent fights.[2] Preskar founded new opportunities with K2 Promotions, run by the Klitschko brothers.[3]

In his 19th professional fight against Maksym Pedyura on June 27, 2009 in Lviv, Preskar was ahead throughout most of the match, but was knocked down twice in the last round.[4][5] After the final bell, he collapsed and was immediately taken to hospital.[4] The fight was declared a draw.

Preskar ascribed the incident to extreme exhaustion, due to high temperature and insufficient ventilation in the hall.[6] In August 2009, he announced an indefinite break from boxing, citing lack of motivation.[6] In May 2010 he collapsed while training, and was diagnosed with epilepsy.[7]

As of 2019, Preskar is working as a boxing coach and a boxing commentator for RTL Televizija.[7]

Professional boxing record

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19 fights 16 wins 0 losses
By knockout 10 0
By decision 6 0
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
19 Draw 16–0–3   Maksym Pedyura PTS 8 27 Jun 2009   Sportpalace, Lviv, Lviv Oblast Preskar felt down unconscious in his corner after final bell.
18 Win 16–0–2   Daniil Peretyatko UD 8 30 May 2009   Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast
17 Win 15–0–2   Zurab Noniashvili RTD 3 (8), 3:00 28 Mar 2009   Budivelnik, Cherkasy, Cherkasy Oblast
16 Win 14–0–2   Hans Joerg Blasko RTD 3 (6), 3:00 13 Dec 2008   SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany
15 Draw 13–0–2   Miyan Solomons SD 8 29 Sep 2007   Große EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen
14 Win 13–0–1   Carl Gathright RTD 3 (8), 3:00 9 Jun 2007   Spodek, Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship
13 Win 12–0–1   Paolo Ferrara UD 8 20 Jan 2007   St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland
12 Win 11–0–1   Gene Valdez TKO 1 (8), 1:58 4 Nov 2006   Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
11 Win 10–0–1   Matthew Greer UD 6 8 Jul 2006   Savvis Center, St Louis, Missouri
10 Win 9–0–1   Ervin Slonka TKO 6 (6) 17 Dec 2005   Max-Schmeling-Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin
9 Win 8–0–1   Danut Moisa KO 2 (4) 12 Dec 2005   Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt
8 Win 7–0–1   Vlado Szabo RTD 2 (6), 3:00 15 Oct 2005   Mehrzweckhalle Sued, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen
7 Win 6–0–1   Mark Miller UD 4 28 Oct 2004   The Plex, North Charleston, South Carolina
6 Win 5–0–1   Danny Wayland KO 1 (4) 2 Oct 2004   Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
5 Win 4–0–1   John Turlington UD 4 4 Sep 2004   Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada
4 Draw 3–0–1   Marcelino Novaes UD 4 15 May 2004   Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada
3 Win 3–0   Rubin Bracero UD 4 1 May 2004   Miami Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida
2 Win 2–0   He Man Gipson KO 1 (4), 2:09 10 April 2004   Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Paradise, Nevada
1 Win 1–0   Roman Armstrong TKO 1 (4), 1:59 12 Jul 2003   Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada Professional debut

References

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  1. ^ a b Mladinich, Robert (July 8, 2006). "The speed and power of Mario Preskar". thesweetscience.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  2. ^ a b "Preskar i Don King". croring.com (in Croatian). September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  3. ^ "Preskar od sada pod palicom braće Kličko: U planu čak šest borbi u 2009". Index.hr (in Croatian). May 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  4. ^ a b "Mario Preskar". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  5. ^ "Video: Preskar ipak nije izgubio - Hrvatski boksač je u svlačionici došao k svijesti" [Video: Preskar did not lose after all - Croatian boxer regains consciousness in the locker room]. Nacional (in Croatian). HINA. 27 June 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Preskar progovorio: Uvijek sam bio odgovoran boksač i ako ću boksati, to će biti na 100 posto!". Index.hr (in Croatian). September 3, 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  7. ^ a b "Velika istina o Hrgoviću i teškoj kategoriji; Evo gdje je Hrga uistinu u odnosu na one najbolje". 14 May 2021.
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