Bantamweight (≤54 kilograms), Men

An unusual division, there was no clear favorite as only one medalist from the 1974 World Championships was entered, that being Aldo Cosentino of France, but he was knocked out in his first match. In the second round, four fighters went through by walkover because of withdrawals by African fighters, and two bouts did not exist because both fighters withdrew due to the boycott. The final came down to American Charlie Mooney against North Korea’s Gu Yong-Jo, with Gu winning a unanimous decision to earn North Korea its first Olympic boxing gold medal. A career military man, Mooney had been silver medalist at the 1975 Pan American Games and a three-time All-Army Champion. He never turned professional and remained in the Army for 22 years until his retirement, and then became a boxing coach.