Middleweight (≤75 kilograms), Men

Though he was already a leading contender for the middleweight title, Henry Maske’s path to Olympic glory was eased slightly by the non-appearance of Cuba’s Angel Espinosa, whose country boycotted the games, and world champion Darrin Allen, who failed to make the US team. Allen’s conqueror, Anthony Hembrick was then eliminated in bizarre circumstances when he failed to show up in time for his first bout due to an error by the US coach who misread the daily schedule.

Maske was a tall upright boxer in the East German tradition, not truly tested in any of his fights and was a comfortable winner of the Olympic title. His opponent in the final, Egerton Marcus was hampered by a hand injury sustained in an earlier bout. Able to turn professional after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Maske was popular and successful as light-heavyweight. He won thirty straight fights and held the IBF world title for three years. In his last fight before his scheduled retirement he lost both his title and unbeaten record to Virgil Hill. In 2007 he emerged from a decade of retirement to fight a rematch with Hill. In a battle of 43-year-olds Maske emerged victorious.