Boxing at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Boxing at the Summer Olympics

Governing body	~~AIBA~~ (suspended) IOC (only 2020)
Events	13 (men: 7; women: 6)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists

Boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction to the program at the 1904 Summer Olympics, except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the sport at the time. The 2008 Summer Olympics were the final games with boxing as a male only event. Since the 2012 Summer Olympics, women's boxing is part of the program.

Summary
History
Events
Medal table
Nations
See also

Summary

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
1
2
3	1904	7	United States
4	1908	5	Great Britain
5
6
7	1920	8	United States
8	1924	8	United States
9	1928	8	Italy
10	1932	8	Argentina
11	1936	8	Germany
12
13
14	1948	8	South Africa
15	1952	10	United States
16	1956	10	Soviet Union

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
17	1960	10	Italy
18	1964	10	Soviet Union
19	1968	11	Soviet Union
20	1972	11	Cuba
21	1976	11	United States
22	1980	11	Cuba
23	1984	12	United States
24	1988	12	United States
25	1992	12	Cuba
26	1996	12	Cuba
27	2000	12	Cuba
28	2004	11	Cuba
29	2008	11	China
30	2012	13	Great Britain
31	2016	13	Uzbekistan
32	2020	13	Cuba

History

Boxing made its first appearance at the 1904 Summer Olympics as a men's event. Due to few competitors at the time, only North American boxers competed for this edition. Since the 1908 Olympics, boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games besides the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the martial arts at the time.

Until 1948, losing semi-finalists competed in a match for a bronze medal. However, in 1950 the International Boxing Association (IBA) decided to discontinue the bronze medal match as the short time interval between the semi-finals and the third-place match allowed limited time for competitors to recover. In 1970, the IBA proposed for both losing semi-finalists to receive a bronze medals, which was accepted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and implemented since the 1972 Summer Olympics. Losing semi-finalists from 1952 to 1968 were also retroactively awarded bronze medals after initially only receiving Olympic diplomas.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, women's boxing events were added to the programme for the first time.

In 2016, the IBA allowed professional boxers to compete in Olympic events, previously being limited to amateur or state-funded boxers, for the first time.

Events

The boxing competition is organized as a set of tournaments, one for each weight class. The number of weight classes has changed over the years (currently 7 for men and 6 for women), and the definition of each class has changed several times, as shown in the following table. Until 1936, weights were measured in pounds, and from 1948 onwards, weights were measured in kilograms.

On March 23, 2013, the International Boxing Association instituted significant changes to the format. The World Series of Boxing, AIBA's pro team league which started in 2010, already enabled team members to retain 2012 Olympic eligibility. The newer AIBA Pro Boxing Tournament, consisting of boxers who sign 5-year contracts with AIBA and compete on pro cards leading up to the tournament, also provides a pathway for new pros to retain their Olympic eligibility and retain ties with national committees.

From the 2016 Summer Olympics, male athletes no longer have to wear protective headgear in competition, due to a ruling by the AIBA and the IOC that it contributes to greater concussion risk. Female athletes will continue to wear the headgear, due to "lack of data" on the effectiveness of it on women. Also from 2016 onwards, the "10-point must" scoring system was used.

Men's weight classes
1904	1908	1920–1936	1948	1952–1964	1968–1980	1984–2000	2004–2008	2012–2016	2020
Heavyweight +158 lb (+71.7 kg)		Heavyweight +175 lb (+79.4 kg)	Heavyweight +80 kg	Heavyweight +81 kg		Super-Heavyweight +91 kg
				Heavyweight +81 kg		Heavyweight 81–91 kg
				Light-Heavyweight 75–81 kg
			Light-Heavyweight 73–80 kg
		Light-Heavyweight 160–175 lb (72.6–79.4 kg)
				Middleweight 71–75 kg			Middleweight 69–75 kg
			Middleweight 67–73 kg
		Middleweight 147–160 lb (66.7–72.6 kg)
Middleweight 145–158 lb (65.8–71.7 kg)	Middleweight 140–158 lb (63.5–71.7 kg)
				Light-Middleweight 67–71 kg
				Light-Middleweight 67–71 kg			Welterweight 64–69 kg		Welterweight 63–69 kg
			Welterweight 62–67 kg	Welterweight 63.5–67 kg
		Welterweight 135–147 lb (61.2–66.7 kg)
Welterweight 135–145 lb (61.2–65.8 kg)
							Light-Welterweight 60–64 kg
	Lightweight 126–140 lb (57.2–63.5 kg)			Light-Welterweight 60–63.5 kg					Lightweight 57–63 kg
			Lightweight 58–62 kg
Lightweight 125–135 lb (56.7–61.2 kg)		Lightweight 126–135 lb (57.2–61.2 kg)
				Lightweight 57–60 kg				Lightweight 56–60 kg
			Featherweight 54–58 kg
	Featherweight 116–126 lb (52.6–57.2 kg)	Featherweight 118–126 lb (53.5–57.2 kg)
				Featherweight 54–57 kg					Featherweight 52–57 kg
Featherweight 115–125 lb (52.2–56.7 kg)				Featherweight 54–57 kg				Bantamweight 52–56 kg
			Bantamweight 51–54 kg
		Bantamweight 112–118 lb (50.8–53.5 kg)
	Bantamweight –116 lb (-52.6 kg)
Bantamweight 105–115 lb (47.6–52.2 kg)								Flyweight 49–52 kg	Flyweight 48–52 kg
			Flyweight -51 kg		Flyweight 48–51 kg			Flyweight 49–52 kg
		Flyweight –112 lb (-50.8 kg)			Flyweight 48–51 kg			Light-Flyweight 46–49 kg
					Light-Flyweight -48 kg
Flyweight –105 lb (-47.6 kg)					Light-Flyweight -48 kg
7	5	8	8	10	11	12	11	10	8

Women's weight classes
1904	2012–2016	2020
demonstration bout	Middleweight 69–75 kg
		Welterweight 64–69 kg
	Lightweight 57–60 kg
		Featherweight 54–57 kg
	Flyweight 48–51 kg
N/A	3	5

Medal table

The following table is ranked by the number of golds, then silvers, then bronzes. Until 1948, losing semi-finalists held a bronze medal playoff; since 1952, both losing semi-finalists have received bronze medals.

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, considering stripped and reallocated medals as of December 31, 2021.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	50	27	40	117
2	Cuba (CUB)	41	19	18	78
3	Great Britain (GBR)	20	15	27	62
4	Italy (ITA)	15	15	18	48
5	Soviet Union (URS)	14	19	18	51
6	Russia (RUS)	10	5	15	30
7	Hungary (HUN)	10	2	8	20
8	Poland (POL)	8	9	26	43
9	Argentina (ARG)	7	7	10	24
9	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	7	7	10	24
11	France (FRA)	6	9	10	25
12	South Africa (RSA)	6	4	9	19
13	Bulgaria (BUL)	5	5	9	19
14	Uzbekistan (UZB)	5	2	8	15
15	East Germany (GDR)	5	2	6	13
16	Germany (GER)	4	9	10	23
17	Thailand (THA)	4	4	7	15
17	Ukraine (UKR)	4	4	7	15
19	South Korea (KOR)	3	7	10	20
20	Canada (CAN)	3	7	7	17
21	Ireland (IRL)	3	5	10	18
22	China (CHN)	3	5	6	14
23	Yugoslavia (YUG)	3	2	6	11
24	Czechoslovakia (TCH)	3	1	2	6
25	Japan (JPN)	3	0	5	8
26	Mexico (MEX)	2	3	8	13
27	North Korea (PRK)	2	3	3	8
28	Brazil (BRA)	2	2	4	8
29	Finland (FIN)	2	1	13	16
30	Romania (ROU)	1	9	15	25
31	Denmark (DEN)	1	5	6	12
32	Turkey (TUR)	1	3	3	7
33	United Team of Germany (EUA)	1	3	2	6
33	Venezuela (VEN)	1	3	2	6
35	Netherlands (NED)	1	2	5	8
36	Mongolia (MGL)	1	2	4	7
37	Norway (NOR)	1	2	2	5
38	Kenya (KEN)	1	1	5	7
39	Republic of China (ROC)	1	1	4	6
40	Belgium (BEL)	1	1	2	4
40	New Zealand (NZL)	1	1	2	4
42	Algeria (ALG)	1	0	5	6
42	West Germany (FRG)	1	0	5	6
44	Dominican Republic (DOM)	1	0	1	2
45	Sweden (SWE)	0	5	6	11
46	Philippines (PHI)	0	4	4	8
47	Nigeria (NGR)	0	3	3	6
48	Uganda (UGA)	0	3	1	4
49	Spain (ESP)	0	2	2	4
50	Belarus (BLR)	0	2	0	2
51	Azerbaijan (AZE)	0	1	8	9
52	Puerto Rico (PUR)	0	1	5	6
53	Australia (AUS)	0	1	4	5
53	Colombia (COL)	0	1	4	5
55	Egypt (EGY)	0	1	3	4
55	Ghana (GHA)	0	1	3	4
57	Chile (CHI)	0	1	2	3
58	Cameroon (CMR)	0	1	1	2
58	Unified Team (EUN)	0	1	1	2
60	Australasia (ANZ)	0	1	0	1
	Czech Republic (CZE)	0	1	0	1
	Estonia (EST)	0	1	0	1
	Tonga (TGA)	0	1	0	1
64	Morocco (MAR)	0	0	4	4
65	India (IND)	0	0	3	3
66	Armenia (ARM)	0	0	2	2
	Moldova (MDA)	0	0	2	2
	Tunisia (TUN)	0	0	2	2
69	Bermuda (BER)	0	0	1	1
	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	0	0	1	1
	Croatia (CRO)	0	0	1	1
	Georgia (GEO)	0	0	1	1
	Guyana (GUY)	0	0	1	1
	Lithuania (LTU)	0	0	1	1
	Mauritius (MRI)	0	0	1	1
	Niger (NIG)	0	0	1	1
	Pakistan (PAK)	0	0	1	1
	Syria (SYR)	0	0	1	1
	Tajikistan (TJK)	0	0	1	1
	Uruguay (URU)	0	0	1	1
	Zambia (ZAM)	0	0	1	1
Totals (81 entries)		265	265	466	996

Nations

Nation	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Afghanistan (AFG)																			3						1		1			3
Algeria (ALG)																2	1		2	7	6	8	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	13
American Samoa (ASA)																					2	2	1							3
Andorra (AND)																		1												1
Angola (ANG)																			3		3	1								3
Antigua and Barbuda (ANT)																					2								1	2
Argentina (ARG)						1	10	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	8	5	3		6	4	3	5	7	1	1	2	6	4	23
Armenia (ARM)																							4	3	1	4	1	5	3	7
Aruba (ARU)																					2									1
Australasia (ANZ)				1																										1
Australia (AUS)							3			3	7	5	9	10	10	4	4	4	2	5	4	6	8	9	9	9	11	3	5	21
Austria (AUT)							3	1		6	5	4	1	5	3	2	1	2	1	2	1									14
Azerbaijan (AZE)																							2	5	9	2	8	11	5	7
Bahamas (BAH)																	2			3	1					1			1	5
Barbados (BAR)																				2	2	2	2	1						5
Belarus (BLR)																							5	1	6	4	3	3	4	7
Belgium (BEL)						13	10	6		8	8	5	1	4				1				1								10
Belize (BIZ)																				1										1
Benin (BEN)																	2		7	3							1			4
Bermuda (BER)																	1	2			1									3
Bolivia (BOL)																				1										1
Botswana (BOT)																					2	1	1	1	2	2	1		2	8
Brazil (BRA)											3	6	2	5	3	2	2	4	4		3	4	6	6	5	6	10	9	7	18
Bulgaria (BUL)												4	2	6	6	9	9	11	11		11	7	6	3	5	2	4	3	3	17
Burkina Faso (BUR)																					2		1	1					1	4
Cambodia (CAM)															4		1												3	3
Cameroon (CMR)																4	3		4	6	4		4	2	3	3	5	4		11
Canada (CAN)						8	9	7	7	4	7	7	6	4	4	4	5	9		10	10	10	11	7	5	1	3	3	5	23
Cape Verde (CPV)																									1			1	1	3
Central African Republic (CAF)																				2	2					1		1		4
Chad (CHA)																	1													1
Chile (CHI)							4	4		4	5		3	3	4	6	3					1	1							11
China (CHN)																					2	4	3	3	6	10	9	11	6	9
Chinese Taipei (TPE)													1	2	7	3	1			2	2		1					2	4	10
Colombia (COL)																	7	5		5	2	3	4	3	5	5	3	5	6	12
Republic of the Congo (CGO)																			3											1
Cook Islands (COK)																					3									1
Costa Rica (CRC)																2					1									2
Ivory Coast (CIV)															3					3	2									3
Croatia (CRO)																						1	1		2	2		2	2	6
Cuba (CUB)														1	6	11	11	11	11			12	12	12	11	10	8	10	7	14
Czechoslovakia (TCH)								3		8	5	5	5	3	5	5	2		3		3	4								12
Czech Republic (CZE)																							4	2			1			3
Denmark (DEN)				2		12	8	6	2	8	6	5	3	5	4	2	3	3	3		5	4	2				1			19
Dominican Republic (DOM)																2		6	1	6	5	6	6	3	5	6	3	2	7	13
Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)																				6	5	1				1	1		4	6
East Germany (GDR)																8	8	8	10		11									5
Ecuador (ECU)																2	1		3		1		2		1	3	7	4	4	10
Egypt (EGY)							1			4	5	7			8	5	6	3		6	4	3	4	7	6	3	5	4	2	18
El Salvador (ESA)																					2								1	2
Estonia (EST)							1	1		2																				3
Eswatini (SWZ)																				3	2	1	1	1					1	6
Ethiopia (ETH)															3	4	6		8				2	2	2					7
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)																												1		1
Fiji (FIJ)													2								2							1		3
Finland (FIN)								3	2	6	6	10	3	7	5	5	4	5	5	5	3	1		1				1	1	18
France (FRA)				7		15	16	8	6	6	8	10	6	8	4	6	6	6	2	4	4	5	7	8	6	9	5	11	6	25
Gabon (GAB)																	1			2	1	1	2	1	2		2			8
The Gambia (GAM)																										1				1
Georgia (GEO)																							5	2	2	2			3	5
Germany (GER)								8	8	8		10										12	8	8	4	4	4	6	3	12
Ghana (GHA)														6	7	7	6			6	4	5	2	4		6	3	1	3	13
Great Britain (GBR)				32		16	16	8	3	8	8	10	7	10	8	9	9	7	9	12	8	10	2	2	1	7	10	12	11	25
Greece (GRE)							1	2	1					2		3	4	3		2	1	1	2	3	6	2				14
Grenada (GRN)																				4	4					1				3
Guam (GUM)																					1									1
Guatemala (GUA)																2				1	1	2				1				5
Guinea (GUI)																			3		2		1	1						4
Guyana (GUY)														1		2	2		4	3	3	2	1						1	9
Haiti (HAI)																		3							1	1		1	1	5
Honduras (HON)																					2		2				1	1		4
Hong Kong (HKG)															2															1
Hungary (HUN)							1	4	2	6	6	9	2	6	5	6	6	8	9		9	8	5	3	5	5	3	2	1	22
India (IND)											7	4					3	2	3	2	3	5	3	4	4	5	8	3	9	15
Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA)																								1						1
Indonesia (INA)														3			2	2		3	2	2	4	2	1					9
Iran (IRI)											8	6		4	5		5	6				5	4	3	1	3	4	1	2	14
Iraq (IRQ)														2	2				7	3	3	2			1		1	1		9
Ireland (IRL)							7	8	4		8	8	7	10	5	6	6	5	7	6	7	6	4	1	1	5	6	8	7	22
Israel (ISR)																				2	3		1							3
Italy (ITA)						5	16	7	8	8	8	10	8	10	10	11	8	6	4	7	7	5	5	6	6	6	7	7	4	24
Jamaica (JAM)											1				2	3	1	3		3	4	2	3						1	10
Japan (JPN)								2	5	5		2	3	5	9	4	4	6		7	7	4	3	2	1	2	4	2	5	20
Jordan (JOR)																					2						1	2	5	4
Kazakhstan (KAZ)																							8	7	8	10	11	12	9	7
Kenya (KEN)															5	4	8			10	12	5	5	4		4	2	3	4	11
Kosovo (KOS)																													1	1
Kuwait (KUW)																					3									1
Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)																							3	5	2	1		1		5
Laos (LAO)																			6		2	1								3
Latvia (LAT)							1															1	1							3
Lebanon (LIB)											1	1					1		2	1	3									6
Lesotho (LES)																				2	3			2		1		2		5
Liberia (LBR)																					4									1
Lithuania (LTU)								2														4	1	2	2	3	2	2		8
Luxembourg (LUX)							6	5		5	4	4		5																6
Madagascar (MAD)																			3	3		2	1	1	1	1				7
Malaysia (MAS)															2								1							2
Malawi (MAW)																	3			6	7									3
Mali (MLI)																1			1	1	1									4
Mauritius (MRI)																					1		3	3	1	2	2	2	2	8
Mexico (MEX)								4	6	4	1	3		3	5	11	8	3	4	6	6	4	8	6	5	3	2	6	3	21
Moldova (MDA)																							2	1	2	2	1			5
Mongolia (MGL)																	9	6	7		7	6	3	1	1	4	4	6	3	12
Montenegro (MNE)																										1	1			2
Morocco (MAR)														7	2	5	3	5		4	7	7	6	5	7	10	8	10	7	15
Mozambique (MOZ)																					3		1				1		2	4
Myanmar (MYA)											2	3	4	3	3	2	2			1										8
Namibia (NAM)																						1	2	1	2	3	2	2	1	8
Nepal (NEP)															4				3	3	5									4
Netherlands (NED)						8	9	6		8	6	5		3	4	2	2			2	2	5						3	2	15
New Zealand (NZL)							1	2	3	3	1		2		2		2	2		2		3	1	1	1		2		1	16
Nicaragua (NCA)																3	2	1	2	3		2					1			7
Niger (NIG)															1	2	4			2	3						1			6
Nigeria (NGR)														4	4	5	6		8	6	7	9	4	5	7	4	3	1		14
North Korea (PRK)																	2	3	6			6	2	1	2	1	2			9
Norway (NOR)						14	9	5		6	4	4		2		1	4			3		1	1							12
Oman (OMA)																					2									1
Pakistan (PAK)											3	4	6	4	4		2	2		4	2	4	4	4	5					13
Panama (PAN)															1		2										1	1	1	5
Papua New Guinea (PNG)																		2			2	5	4			1		1	1	7
Paraguay (PAR)																				2	2									2
Peru (PER)											3					2	2						1						2	5
Philippines (PHI)									4	5	5	5	5	1	6	5	4	3		3	6	6	5	4	4	1	1	2	4	23
Poland (POL)							5	4		7	6	10	9	10	10	11	11	11	11		7	8	4	5	3	2	1	2	4	21
Portugal (POR)																			1											1
Puerto Rico (PUR)											3	3			1	6	6	10	3	11	10	8	7	5	5	5	5	1	1	17
Qatar (QAT)																												2		1
Refugee Olympic Team (EOR)																													2	1
Republic of China (ROC)										2																				1
Rhodesia (RHO)								2						4	1															3
Romania (ROU)										4		10	4	9	9	9	11	11	11	6	2	5	6	10	3	2	2	1	2	19
Russia (RUS)																							9	12	11	11	10	11	11	6
Saar (SAA)												3																		1
Samoa (SAM)																				4	7	3	2	1		1			2	8
Senegal (SEN)																	4	1						1						3
Serbia (SRB)																											1		1	2
Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)																								1						1
Seychelles (SEY)																			2	4		2	3		1		1	1		7
Sierra Leone (SLE)																1			2	2	2		1			1				6
Singapore (SIN)																	1													1
Slovakia (SVK)																							2						1	2
Somalia (SOM)																													1	1
South Africa (RSA)						7	4	6	5	6	8	8	7	8								2	5	3	3	1	2			15
South Korea (KOR)											3	4	5	6	8	7	6	6		9	12	11	9	9	7	5	2		2	17
South Yemen (YMD)																					2									1
Solomon Islands (SOL)																					1									1
Soviet Union (URS)												10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11		12									9
Spain (ESP)							7	6			8			8	4	6	5	5		4	5	7	1	1		1	2	2	4	17
Sri Lanka (SRI)											4	2	2	2	2	1										1				7
Sudan (SUD)														3		3	5			4	5									5
Sweden (SWE)							5	8	3	4	4	7	3	2		2	2	3	6	6	6	3	6		1	2	3	1	2	21
Switzerland (SUI)						1	7			8	4	6		6	2	1	3													9
Syria (SYR)																			8	2	3		2	2	1		1			7
Tajikistan (TJK)																							1		1	3	4	1	3	6
Tanzania (TAN)																1	8		9	6	4	5	2				1			8
Thailand (THA)													5	4	5	3	7	5		5	6	6	6	9	6	8	3	4	5	16
Togo (TOG)																	2			3	3									3
Tonga (TGA)																				7	3		2		1					4
Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)																				2			1				1	1	1	5
Tunisia (TUN)														5	2	4	3	1		3		3	4	5	5	5	5	2	2	14
Turkey (TUR)																6	7	3		6	4	1	8	9	7	5	6	6	6	13
Turkmenistan (TKM)																							1		2	1	2	1		5
Uganda (UGA)														6	5	8	8		7	11	9	3	2	4	5	1		2	3	14
Ukraine (UKR)																							7	11	6	7	7	5	5	7
Unified Team (EUN)																						12								1
United Team of Germany (EUA)													8	10	10															3
United Arab Republic (UAR)														4																1
United States (USA)			18			16	16	8	8	8	8	10	8	10	10	11	11	11		12	11	12	12	12	9	8	12	8	10	24
Uruguay (URU)							5			7	8	2		3	1	4	1	1		1	2	2								12
Uzbekistan (UZB)																							7	10	9	7	6	11	11	7
Vanuatu (VAN)																					1							1		2
Venezuela (VEN)												5	2	3		4	7	10	9	3	6	3	2	4	7	6	3	8	4	17
Vietnam (VIE)												2									2								2	3
Virgin Islands (ISV)																	1	2		1		2	1			2		1		7
West Germany (FRG)																8	9	6		8	6									5
Yugoslavia (YUG)												3		4		5	3	7	9	7	7									8
Zambia (ZAM)															2	4	4		8	9	7	4	4	2	2	3	1	1	3	14
Zimbabwe (ZIM)																				3	3		2							3

No. of nations	-	-	1	4	-	12	27	29	18	31	39	43	34	54	56	65	80	54	51	81	106	78	97	75	72	77	77	74	81
No. of boxers	-	-	18	42	-	116	181	144	85	179	205	249	161	281	269	307	354	266	271	354	432	336	355	307	280	283	283	286	289
Year	96	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20