At just 20 years old, boxer Mateo Pavić from Novi Grad entered 2026 as the Swedish national champion in the up to 86 kg category, confirming his place among the very best in a country with a strong boxing tradition.
Growing up in his hometown, Pavić first tried karate, then football, and later taekwondo. He discovered boxing—the “noble art”—in the eighth grade, and began training seriously at the start of high school in Sweden, the country he moved to with his parents at the age of ten. The culmination of years of sacrifice came late last year in Karlstad, where he defeated Swedish favorite Patrik Samba by a 5–0 judges’ decision in the final of the national championship in the cruiserweight division.
“I was the only fighter from my Hisingen club left in the finals. Everyone was behind me—the coach, my teammates, even the kids from the club, who kept messaging me that I had to win. No coach from our club had ever celebrated a national title, and no one from the club had been champion for 11 years. I knew it had to be me. I entered the fight with huge confidence. I knew that if I stayed dominant, my opponent would break before the end. And that’s exactly what happened. For every punch Samba threw, I returned three. He got tired, while I felt like I could box ten rounds—I was that prepared. In the third round I realized just how dominant I was. He tried to catch me with a hook; my coach had predicted that, and that was all I had in my head. I stuck to my plan and stayed fully focused. When the fight ended, my coach told me I had won. It really was 5–0. I did it. It was a huge relief,” Pavić told Glas Srpske, adding:
“I told myself that if I didn’t win this Swedish championship, I would quit boxing. I was always close, always missing that final click. I put enormous pressure on myself before this tournament. I trained brutally hard. Every day I asked myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ I was collapsing from exhaustion. I entered the championship at the semifinal stage because I was ranked third among seven boxers in my category. In the semifinal, I faced an opponent I had fought a month earlier—it had been a bad experience, nearly turning into a brawl because he hit me after the referee’s command. My coach stopped it back then. This time, before the semifinal, everyone knew what had happened. The coach told me to focus only on the fight, the referee repeated the same, even the national team selector mentioned it. I had never been better prepared in my life. I kept him at distance, moved, ‘danced.’ Everything was fair and clean this time. I won 5–0,” Pavić recalled, describing his road to the final and the throne.
The path to the top is never easy, something this determined 20-year-old understands well—especially after early doubts.
“When I returned to boxing at the start of high school, I decided I wanted to live from it. At first it wasn’t easy—I trained a bit, then rested. Once I started competing, I told myself I didn’t want to take beatings, so I forced myself to train hard. I went from three sessions a week to five, six, even nine to twelve. At the beginning I lacked discipline. Waking up early before school, cold weather outside—it was all part of a long process,” Pavić explained.
In Swedish amateur boxing there are C class (up to five bouts), B class (five to fifteen), and A class (15+ bouts). Mateo skipped the C and B levels entirely and started directly in the highest category, often boxing abroad. His first bout came in 2022 in Finland, at a well-known Scandinavian tournament.
“I had no nerves—it was all unknown to me. My coach pushed me and said, ‘If he keeps training, he’ll be the best.’ I won my first fight by technical knockout,” Pavić recalled.
His career has been full of challenges. As a junior, he once boxed an opponent 26 kilograms heavier—and won, gaining huge confidence. He earned two silver medals at the Swedish Junior Championships in 2022 and 2023, both times losing finals in a higher weight class to national team boxer Elvin Belezika, who outweighed him by six kilograms. Pavić took those defeats as lessons.
He moved up to the senior category in 2024, after turning 19. That year, during a national team camp in Finland, he sparred with a professional boxer.
“I had no opponents in the 86 kg and 92 kg categories, so the Finnish national team coach found a professional to spar with me. He asked if I wanted to do it—I said yes, because I wanted the experience. That fight felt like a completely different sport. He was incredibly strong, over 92 kilos. I was just surviving that sparring session. I wasn’t at that level yet. I got injured, but the experience was invaluable,” Pavić said.
He continues to pursue his goals step by step.
“In March I’m competing at the Scandinavian Championships, and I’m going there to win. The weight class will change to 85 kg, so I’ll have to cut weight. I’m also expecting the European U-24 Championship this year. Long-term, I want to go to the Olympic Games, but if I win a medal at the European or World Championships before that, I’ll turn professional immediately. I said I want to live from boxing—and that’s only possible as a pro. I also run my own marketing company that helps local businesses. I finished high school and decided not to go to university. I chose to start my own business and follow my dreams,” Pavić concluded.
Parents
Mateo’s greatest support comes from his parents, Branislav and Brankica.
“They’re always there for me. My father watches every fight. My mother finds it harder—she gets too nervous. But they understand my goals and my ambitions,” Pavić emphasized.
Source: Glas Srpske
