| 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 |