# Mario Preskar

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.

## Amateur career

Preskar was born in Zagreb, Croatia. He began boxing at the age of 9 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.

## Professional career

Preskar started his professional career in 2003, at only 19, signing a contract with the world-famous boxing manager Don King. 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. Preskar founded new opportunities with K2 Promotions, run by the Klitschko brothers.
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. After the final bell, he collapsed and was immediately taken to hospital. The fight was declared a draw.
Preskar ascribed the incident to extreme exhaustion, due to high temperature and insufficient ventilation in the hall. In August 2009, he announced an indefinite break from boxing, citing lack of motivation. In May 2010 he collapsed while training, and was diagnosed with epilepsy.
As of 2019, Preskar is working as a boxing coach and a boxing commentator for RTL Televizija.

## Professional boxing record

| 19 fights | 16 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 0 |
| Draws | 3 | 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 |