Olympic sport Boxing

Sport

Boxing

Kind of sport

Summersport

Old sport

Description

Boxing is a modern fist fighting competition in which the boxers try to hit the body of their opponent by punching them with stuffed gloves. Amateur contests consist of three rounds with each round comprising three minutes. In 1904 boxing was already on the Olympic programme. Boxing took place in a ring, anywhere from a 24.01 metre square to a 37.21 metre square. In 1952, for the first time, there were no contests for the third place, which meant that the beaten semi-finalists were both awarded with the bronze medal. Since 1984 boxing at the super-heavyweight class, which is everyone above 91 kg., is possible. Boxers are grouped in the following classes:

Light Fly until 48 kg
Flyweight until 51 kg
Bantamweight until 54 kg
Featherweight until 57 kg
Lightweight until 60 kg
Light welter weight until 63.5 kg
Welter weight until 67 kg
Light Middle weight until 71 kg
Middle-weight until 75 kg
Light heavyweight until 81 kg
Heavyweight until 91 kg
Super-heavyweight above 91 kg

Amateurs box with gloves that weigh 228 grams. These are heavier than the gloves that professional boxers wear. The heavier the boxing gloves are, the lesser the effect of the punch will be which means a lesser chance of injuries. It is permitted to wear soft bandages around the hands. The wearing of protective gear such as a protective cup, which protects against low punching, a mouthpiece and protective head-gear is obligatory for the amateurs. During the Olympic Games in Seoel, in 1988, the boxing programme was overloaded. No fewer than 441 boxers from 106 countries were on the programme to fight one another. The situation demanded an immediate solution. The officials oppted for two boxing rings which were placed next to each other in the same hall, and chaos ensued. Many Olympic prize-winners have been very succesful in the transition from the amateur ring to the professional ring. A few famous examples are George Foreman, Leon Spinks and of course Cassius Clay which was his name when he became the Olympic light heavyweight champion in 1960.