Welterweight (≤67 kilograms), Men

For one reason or another three of the top contenders for the Olympic welterweight crown were unable to compete in Moscow. West Germany’s Ernst Mueller, the European champion, and the new teenage sensation from the USA, Donald Curry, were both victims of the boycott. Jamaican Mike McCallum was present in the Russian capital but was stricken by appendicitis shortly before the Opening Ceremony and was forced to withdraw. It was expected that this class would follow many others at the 1980 Olympic Games and develop into a clash between Eastern Europe and Cuba. The fighter that conspired to upset the applecart was a 20-year-old from Uganda whose main claim to fame was a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. John Mugabi blazed a path of destruction in the early rounds and knocked out his first three opponents to reach the semi-final. On the other side of the draw Andres Aldama of Cuba was emulating Mugabi with the exception of a hard fought points win over Israyel Hakobkokhyan of the USSR. The two men then had contrasting semi-final wins. Aldama comfortably outpointed his East German opponent but Mugabi only advanced on a 3-2 decision over Kazimierz Szczerba of Poland although it must be pointed that the two dissenting voters were both from Warsaw Pact countries. The two big hitters faced off in the final where the greater experience of the Cuban, who was in his second Olympic final, negated the raw power of the Ugandan. For Aldama this was the pinnacle of his career and he never achieved the same sort of success gain. Mugabi went on to be a popular and charismatic addition to the professional scene.