| Date | 22 July 1980 | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Tsentralnaya arena, Sportivny kompleks Olimpiysky, Moskva | |
| Format | Winner of each match advanced to the second round. | |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 22 Jul | Jorge Hernández |  CUB | ||||
| Match #2 | 22 Jul | Viktor Miroshnichenko |  URS | ||||
| Match #3 | 22 Jul | Webbyego Mwangu |  ZAM | ||||
| Match #4 | 22 Jul | Henryk Średnicki |  POL | ||||
| Match #5 | 22 Jul | Daniel Radu |  ROU | ||||
| Match #6 | 22 Jul | Keith Wallace |  GBR | ||||
| Match #7 | 22 Jul | Rabi Raj Thapa |  NEP | ||||
| Match #8 | 22 Jul | János Váradi |  HUN | ||||
| Match #9 | 22 Jul | Alberto Mercado |  PUR | ||||
| Match #10 | 22 Jul | Gilberto Román |  MEX | ||||
| Match #11 | 22 Jul | Petar Lesov |  BUL | Decision | Onofre Ramírez |  NCA | |
| Match #12 | 22 Jul | Hassan Sherif |  ETH | Disqualified | Barry Aguibou |  GUI | |
| Match #13 | 22 Jul | Emmanuel Mlundwa |  TAN | Referee stops contest (head blow) | Talal El-Chawa |  SYR | |
| Match #14 | 22 Jul | Hugh Russell |  IRL | Decision | Samir Khenyab |  IRQ | |
| Match #15 | 22 Jul | Jo Ryon-Sik |  PRK | Decision | Amal Das |  IND | |
| Match #16 | 22 Jul | Armando Guevara |  VEN | Decision | Nyamyn Narantuyaa |  MGL |
