OLYMPIC boxing has introduced some of the most legendary names ever to grace the sport. The Games is the ultimate prize for every amateur boxer and the perfect way to sign off before heading into the professional ranks. Over the years, dazzling performances, shock decisions and even history-making bouts have lit up the Olympics. Below are some of the most iconic moments and bouts in Olympic boxing history
Cassius Clay, Rome 1960
The man who would be known as Muhammad Ali almost decided not make the Games in Italy, due to a fear of flying, and even strapped on a parachute on the plane.
But The Greatest must have been thankful that he did make the trip as he went on to win the gold, beating Pole Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the final.
Ali travelled to the 1960 Rome Games to compete in the light heavyweight division. Despite being only 18, he won all four of his fights easily.
Little did anyone know it would spark one of the most iconic careers ever, not only in boxing, but in all of sports.
Clay turned professional and won the heavyweight World Championship for the first time in 1964, beating Sonny Liston in a legendary fight. Over the next four years he defended his title nine times, converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Sugar Ray Leonard, Montreal 1976
Leonard goes down as one of the most technically gifted fighters of all time, blessed with speed, timing and magical footwork.
And it was all on display in Canada, where he showed off his famous ‘shoeshine’ technique of throwing lots of fast combinations to catch the judges eye.
Leonard beat Cuba’s Andres Aldama for gold and in the pros later became a five-weight world champion as part of the ‘Four Kings’ era, with classic fights against Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns and the late Marvin Hagler.
Leonard now keeps his gold medal locked up tight in a safety deposit box, but he says he’s allowed it to grace other people’s necks on rare occasions.
“When some friends or just individuals come over sometimes I’ll show it, let them take a picture of it around their neck, ‘Here you go. You get one around your neck,’” the former athlete told PEOPLE.
Roy Jones Jr, Seoul 1988
In one of boxing’s darkest and most infamous hours, Jones was robbed of Olympic gold against Park Si-hun of South Korea.
Years later it emerged the offending judges had been wined and dined by Korean organisers, but the International Olympic Committee stated “there is no evidence of corruption in the boxing events in Seoul.”
The outcome drew instant criticism and disdain, even from South Koreans, who heckled Park at the podium and bombarded local TV stations with phone calls protesting that the country’s home advantage had gone too far.
Jones went on to have a phenomenal professional career, becoming a four-weight champ in the pros – even winning a heavyweight belt – and retiring in 2018 with a 66-9 record that cemented him as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Park, the last South Korean boxer to win an Olympic gold, said last year he had spent the past 32 years wishing it was a silver.
“There’s hardened resentment built up in me that I will probably carry for the rest of my life,” Park, 54, who now coaches the small municipal boxing team of Seogwipo City in the island province of Jeju, said.
“I didn’t want my hand to be raised (after the fight with Jones), but it did go up, and my life became gloomy because of that.”
Lennox Lewis, Seoul 1988
Lewis, who was born in London but moved to Ontario aged 12, represented Canada in Korea.
At the age of 18, he represented Canada in the 1984 Summer Olympics as a super heavyweight but lost by decision in the quarter-finals to American, Tyrell Biggs, the eventual gold medalist.
Lewis being a true competitor decided that he would return to the Olympic Games and win gold. In 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, he did as he said he would and brought home the Gold medal to Canada in the Super Heavyweight division. This set the stage for Lewis’s illustrious boxing career.
It was American Riddick Bowe that he beat to win gold, sparking a heated rivalry with the heavyweight.
It carried on into the pros but they never re-matched, with Bowe even binning his WBC belt to avoid fighting Lewis.
Floyd Mayweather, Atlanta 1996
In another ugly night for boxing, Mayweather lost to Bulgarian Serafiv Todorov in the semi-finals – but had clearly been robbed.
So much so, that the referee even raised his wrong hand in confusion as Todorov was announced the winner.
Mayweather reached the semi-finals following a tight contest against future Olympic silver medalist Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba.
Standing between him and a place for the gold medal bout was three-time world champion Todorov.
Mayweather seemed the more dominant fighter of the two as he kept landing shots while avoiding ones thrown towards him.
The referee raised his hand and it looked like the United States could add another gold to their medal tally. This is where drama struck.
The judges announced Todorov as the winner with the score reading 10-9, much to the shock of the American team. Mayweather was inconsolable after the fight and left the interview in tears.
Despite the heartbreak of winning only bronze, it was the last time Mayweather – who retired 50-0 after turning pro – ever tasted defeat.
Wladimir Klitschko, Atlanta 1996
The younger Klitschko won gold against Tongan Paea Wolfgramm in America.
It was not such an easy transformation into the paid ranks for the Ukrainian, though, who suffered three defeats in his early career.
But under the guidance of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, Klitschko went on to have a dominant nine-year reign as champ before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015.
Deontay Wilder, Beijing 2008
American Wilder, then 22, was beaten by Italian ex-cop Clemente Russo in the semi-final in China to claim bronze.
But it was the third-place prize which inspired his current nickname the ‘Bronze Bomber.’
Paying homage to the ‘Brown Bomber’ Joe Louis, also from Wilder’s home state of Alabama, the nickname has become synonymous with modern-day heavyweight boxing.
Anthony Joshua, London 2012
Joshua went into the 2012 London Olympics as a novice on the international scene, despite being a world silver medalist.
Only four years after taking up boxing, Joshua beat Italian legend and reigning Olympic champion and former two-time world champion Roberto Cammarelle in front of adoring fans in the capital.
After conceding the first two rounds to Cammarelle, an adversary he had already beaten the previous year, Joshua grew into the fight and fought back to level the scores after the third round, before he was announced winner via count-back.
It was the night Britain’s newest superstar was born and within a year of AJ’s pro debut he was a household name.
Fast forward to the present and he is one of the biggest poster boys in boxing, a two-time unified champ and a mega commercial attraction.
Nicola Adams, London 2012
The 2012 Games was a landmark for boxing as it was the first to involve women’s competiton.
And it was Britain’s Adams who was the first to medal, brilliantly beating world No.1 Ren Cancan from China to win gold.
She added a further flyweight gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and was victorious at the 2015 European Games in Baku.
The following year was just as successful, with Leeds-born Adams winning her first World Championship gold before defending her flyweight title at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and turning professional in 2017.
Adams followed it up with a pro world title and retired in 2019 unbeaten in six fights.
PUNCH.
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