A Yugoslavian fighter called Mate Parlov was the first man to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship, an Olympic gold medal and then a professional world title. Almost half a century later, it is still an elite achievement.
On Thursday, at 11am, the boxing will start in Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena when the latest version – now called the World Boxing Championships – begin; more than 580 boxers from nearly 70 countries will try to follow in Parlov’s footsteps. It is a bigger field than the boxing at the London 2012 Olympics.
