As the middle child in a family of nine brothers and sisters, Jordan “The Croatian Warrior” Zlacki, 35, of Springdale always needed to be tough. Whether in Springdale or Florida, where he moved before high school, he would always get into scraps.
“I got into my fair share of street fights,” Zlacki said. “I went into the gym, and (boxing) helped mature me.”
He’s now a full-fledged professional boxer, competing in eight fights and going 3-5 since turning pro in 2018.
Zlacki tried but never really got involved with sports in high school. He thought of boxing earlier in life, but the journey didn’t begin until he was 20.
One of his co-workers at his contracting job liked his work ethic and asked him if he was interested in boxing. He went to James 5:16 Center in Tarentum, about 10 minutes from his house.
“I went to the gym. I started sparring the same day,” Zlacki said.
His first boxing coach was Jim Kobert, the owner of James 5:16 Center, who started training young fighters in 1998.
“He had real talent and ability and wanted to learn,” Kobert said. “I never let anybody in a ring I didn’t feel comfortable with.”
Even with the closing of James 5:16 in late 2022, Kobert remains in Zlacki’s corner at fights. He’s been Zlacki’s coach since he was an amateur.
“Each one of his fights was very close,” Kobert said. “Though he should have been a state champion (as an amateur).”
As an amateur, Zlacki often would square off against fighters under the direction of Bill Wolfe, trainer at Butler Cubs Boxing Gym.
Wolfe has known Zlacki for 10 years. In addition to his fighters competing against him, he occasionally would come up to the gym and spar against the amateurs and professionals.
“We always knew when we trained against Jordan, you had to be in shape,” Wolfe said. “You had to be tough, and we had a lot of good fights against him.”
After the closing of James 5:16, Zlacki decided to train at Butler Cubs for his next professional fight. It was a new start for Zlacki. His opponent was Eric Palmer, a veteran with over 10 years and 35 professional bouts.
Zlacki was on a four-fight losing streak. Three of the losses went to decisions, and one was a TKO that resulted from a cut above his eye.
He was ready for the St. Patrick’s Day clash.
“I felt like a million bucks,” Zlacki said. “He was feeding me good positive energy all camp.”
The two battled in a jam-packed Grand Hall at The Priory on March 17. Zlacki went the scheduled four rounds with a renewed vigor against his opponent from Uniontown.
His game plan regularly includes punishing shots to the body, peppering opponents with his signature right hook to the body.
With his fianceé, Amber, watching from the left of the blue corner he was assigned to, he picked up a split decision victory, ending his losing streak.
“It was my favorite fight in his career. It was a big win for him,” Wolfe said. “He just needs to be disciplined and (keep) in control, and he can play with anybody.”
At 35, his professional boxing future is still up in the air. A possible rematch with Palmer would give him the first six-round fight of his career in the spring or summer.
He’s confident he can get another win against Palmer, but he has a big decision in his career.
“At this point, you’re in or out, I could fight till I’m 40,” Zlacki said. “As I’m getting older, I know that I can’t be taking (long) breaks.”