Boxing as part of the so-called heavy athletics (boxing, wrestling and weightlifting) began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century, predominantly within the Sokol organizations. Between the two world wars, a more systematic development of boxing began at heavy athletics clubs and sections such as Hercules, Croatia and Građanski. The first boxing matches were organized then, and the first national boxing championships were held in 1927. After the Second World War, a number of clubs were founded (Zagreb, Pula, Osijek, Borovo, Split, Rijeka, etc.), and Croatian boxers began to achieve success in amateur boxing at the Olympic Games, world and European championships and win titles in professional boxing.
The Yugoslav Heavy Athletics Federation, founded in Zagreb in 1922, was the first boxing umbrella organization. The Yugoslav Boxing Federation was founded in Zagreb and it separated from the Yugoslav Heavy Athletics Federation in 1934. The Croatian Boxing Association was founded in 1939 during the Banovina of Croatia. The Croatian Boxing Federation has been a member of European and international boxing federations since 1992.
Mate Parlov was the most successful Croatian boxer (Munich 1972 Olympic Champion, 1974 World Amateur Champion and 1978 WBC World Champion). Prominent Croatian boxers: Pero Tadić, Anton Josipović, Marijan Beneš, Damir Škaro, Željko Mavrović, Stipe Drviš, Marijo Šivolija, Stipe Božić and Filip Hrgović.