Boxing at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Dates 7 – 13 August 1948
Medal Events 8

When Olympic boxing resumed after its’ twelve year break, it was under the auspices of a new governing body. The Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur (FIBA) was dissolved and replaced in 1946 by the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateure (AIBA). The former having lost credibility due to the behavior of some its’ officials during World War II.

A larger than expected entry forced the re-scheduling of the first round of competition. All contests were due to be held during the second week of the Games on a temporary bridge laid out over the Empire Pool at Wembley, but an extra day’s boxing had to be slotted in and this took place at the Empress Hall at Earls Court, the venue for a number of other sports. 205 boxers took part, more than any other previous Olympics and more nations were represented (39) than ever before.

One thing remained the same however; the standard of refereeing and judging was strongly criticized though in fairness it had proved impossible, due to the long period of war and lack of international competition, to judge the standard of officials especially from countries outside Europe. The AIBA eventually banned 19 judges (out of 56) and 17 referees (out of 37) who they believed were not of the standard required.

The weight limits in each division, which had remained static since 1920, were adjusted to metric measurements, e.g., the light-heavyweight class limit changed from 175 lbs./79.38 kg. to 80 kg./177 lbs.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Flyweight (≤51 kilograms), Men Olympic 7 – 13 August 1948 26 26
Bantamweight (≤54 kilograms), Men Olympic 7 – 13 August 1948 30 30
Featherweight (≤58 kilograms), Men Olympic 7 – 13 August 1948 30 30
Lightweight (≤62 kilograms), Men Olympic 9 – 13 August 1948 27 27
Welterweight (≤67 kilograms), Men Olympic 7 – 13 August 1948 26 26
Middleweight (≤73 kilograms), Men Olympic 7 – 13 August 1948 25 25
Light-Heavyweight (≤80 kilograms), Men Olympic 9 – 13 August 1948 24 24
Heavyweight (>80 kilograms), Men Olympic 9 – 13 August 1948 17 17
205 (205/0) 39 (39/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Flyweight, Men Pascual PérezARG Spartaco BandinelliITA Han Su-AnKOR
Bantamweight, Men Tibor CsíkHUN Gianni ZuddasITA Juan VenegasPUR
Featherweight, Men Ernesto FormentiITA Dennis ShepherdRSA Aleksy AntkiewiczPOL
Lightweight, Men Gerald DreyerRSA Jos VissersBEL Svend VadDEN
Welterweight, Men Július TormaTCH Hank HerringUSA Alessandro D'OttavioITA
Middleweight, Men László PappHUN Johnny WrightGBR Ivano FontanaITA
Light-Heavyweight, Men George HunterRSA Don ScottGBR Mauro CíaARG
Heavyweight, Men Rafael IglesiasARG Gunnar NilssonSWE Johnny ArthurRSA

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
South Africa RSA 2 1 1 4
Argentina ARG 2 0 1 3
Hungary HUN 2 0 0 2
Italy ITA 1 2 2 5
Czechoslovakia TCH 1 0 0 1
Great Britain GBR 0 2 0 2
Belgium BEL 0 1 0 1
Sweden SWE 0 1 0 1
United States USA 0 1 0 1
Denmark DEN 0 0 1 1
Poland POL 0 0 1 1
Puerto Rico PUR 0 0 1 1
Republic of Korea KOR 0 0 1 1