Boxing
Boxing is a combat sport in which two athletes compete in a ring using their fists. Boxers wear special padded gloves weighing 10 ounces (284 g) and are allowed to strike the front and sides of the opponent’s head and torso. Punches below the belt are prohibited.
In professional boxing, gloves weigh 8 ounces for weight classes fr om flyweight through welterweight (inclusive) and 10 ounces for heavier categories. For women, gloves weigh 8 ounces from flyweight to featherweight and 10 ounces from super featherweight to heavyweight. Ten-ounce gloves may also be used in lighter weight categories.
Victory can be achieved either on points at the end of the bout (3 rounds of 3 minutes for men; 4 rounds of 2 minutes for women; in professional boxing—10 or 12 rounds of 3 minutes), or early—due to clear superiority, disqualification for rule violations, inability or refusal of one boxer to continue, or by knockout. Early victories are awarded by the referee in the ring, while decisions on points are made by a majority of five judges seated ringside. Since 1992, electronic scoring has been used at the Olympic Games.
Interesting Facts
Oliver Kirk (USA) is the only boxer to have won two Olympic gold medals at the same Games—the 1904 Summer Olympics, in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. At that time, boxers were allowed to compete in two adjacent weight classes provided their weight did not exceed the lighter category. This rule no longer exists, making Kirk’s achievement unique.
Three-time Olympic champions include László Papp (Hungary) and Cubans Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savón.
Olympic Games
Men’s boxing has been part of the Olympic program since 1904 (St. Louis). Boxing was not contested at the 1912 Summer Olympics due to the host nation’s reservations about the sport. After the 1948 Summer Olympics, bouts for third place were abolished—both semifinal losers receive bronze medals.
In 2009, the International Olympic Committee approved the inclusion of women’s boxing in the Olympic program. It debuted at the 2012 Summer Olympics, wh ere three sets of medals were awarded. For the first time, five boxers—winners of the World Series of Boxing (a new AIBA program at the time)—were also admitted to individual Olympic competitions.
Russia
At the first Olympic Games featuring the USSR team (1952 Summer Olympics), Soviet boxers won 2 silver and 4 bronze medals. Major success came at the 1956 Summer Olympics, with 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The first Soviet Olympic boxing champion was Vladimir Safronov, who arrived as a first-class athlete and returned as an Honored Master of Sport.
Overall, 14 Soviet boxers became Olympic champions. Boris Lagutin won Olympic gold twice and added a bronze medal. Since 1996, boxers of the Russian Federation have claimed Olympic gold eight times. Oleg Saitov and Aleksey Tishchenko became two-time Olympic champions, with Saitov also earning a bronze medal.
Two Russian boxers have received the Val Barker Trophy, awarded to the most technically skilled boxer at the Olympic tournament: Valery Popenchenko (1964) and Oleg Saitov (2000).
Our Olympians
