Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics

In today's world, Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics has become a topic of great relevance and interest to a large number of people. Whether due to its impact on society, its historical relevance or its influence on various aspects of daily life, Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics has captured the attention of a wide audience. From its origins to its current evolution, Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics continues to generate debates, reflections and deep analysis. In this article, we will explore different aspects related to Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the aim of delving into its importance and better understanding its impact on the modern world.

Boxing
at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
VenueExCeL Exhibition Centre
Dates28 July – 12 August 2012
Competitors286 (250 men, 36 women)
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2016 →
ExCeL Exhibition Centre, the venue for the boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The boxing tournaments at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held from 28 July to 12 August at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.

A total of 286 competitors took part in 13 events. For the first time at an Olympic Games, women competed in three boxing events. The first Olympic gold medal in women's boxing was awarded to Nicola Adams from Great Britain, who won the flyweight tournament on 9 August 2012.

Competition format

Men competed in the following ten events:

Women's boxing was included in the Olympic programme for the first time, with female boxers able to participate in three events:

Qualifying criteria

Each National Olympic Committee was permitted to enter up to one athlete in each event. Nine places were reserved for the host nation, Great Britain, from which it chose up to six (five male and one female), while the remaining places were allocated to the Tripartite Invitation Commission. For each athlete from the host nation who qualified through the World Amateur Boxing Championships, the host lost a guaranteed place. Each continent had a quota of places to be filled through the two championships. Asia had 56 spots, the Americas 54, Africa 52, Europe 78 and Oceania 10.

Qualification events were:

Competition schedule

There will be two sessions of competition on most days of the 2012 Olympics Boxing program, an afternoon session (A), which will start at 13:30 BST (except for 9 August when it will start at 16:30 BST), and an evening session (E), starting at 20:30 BST.

P Preliminary rounds R Round of 16 ¼ Quarterfinals ½ Semifinals F Final
Date → Sat 28 Sun 29 Mon 30 Tue 31 Wed 1 Thu 2 Fri 3 Sat 4 Sun 5 Mon 6 Tue 7 Wed 8 Thu 9 Fri 10 Sat 11 Sun 12
Event ↓ A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E A E E A
Men's light flyweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's flyweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's bantamweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's lightweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's light welterweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's welterweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's middleweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's light heavyweight P R ¼ ½ F
Men's heavyweight R ¼ ½ F
Men's super heavyweight R ¼ ½ F
Women's flyweight R ¼ ½ F
Women's lightweight R ¼ ½ F
Women's middleweight R ¼ ½ F

Medalists

Men

Games Gold Silver Bronze
Light flyweight
Zou Shiming
 China
Kaeo Pongprayoon
 Thailand
Paddy Barnes
 Ireland
David Ayrapetyan
 Russia
Flyweight
Robeisy Ramírez
 Cuba
Tugstsogt Nyambayar
 Mongolia
Misha Aloyan
 Russia
Michael Conlan
 Ireland
Bantamweight
Luke Campbell
 Great Britain
John Joe Nevin
 Ireland
Lázaro Álvarez
 Cuba
Satoshi Shimizu
 Japan
Lightweight
Vasyl Lomachenko
 Ukraine
Han Soon-Chul
 South Korea
Yasniel Toledo
 Cuba
Evaldas Petrauskas
 Lithuania
Light welterweight
Roniel Iglesias
 Cuba
Denys Berinchyk
 Ukraine
Vincenzo Mangiacapre
 Italy
Uranchimegiin Mönkh-Erdene
 Mongolia
Welterweight
Serik Sapiyev
 Kazakhstan
Fred Evans
 Great Britain
Taras Shelestyuk
 Ukraine
Andrey Zamkovoy
 Russia
Middleweight
Ryōta Murata
 Japan
Esquiva Falcão
 Brazil
Anthony Ogogo
 Great Britain
Abbos Atoev
 Uzbekistan
Light heavyweight
Egor Mekhontsev
 Russia
Adilbek Niyazymbetov
 Kazakhstan
Yamaguchi Falcão
 Brazil
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
 Ukraine
Heavyweight
Oleksandr Usyk
 Ukraine
Clemente Russo
 Italy
Tervel Pulev
 Bulgaria
Teymur Mammadov
 Azerbaijan
Super heavyweight
Anthony Joshua
 Great Britain
Roberto Cammarelle
 Italy
Magomedrasul Majidov
 Azerbaijan
Ivan Dychko
 Kazakhstan

Women

Games Gold Silver Bronze
Flyweight
Nicola Adams
 Great Britain
Ren Cancan
 China
Marlen Esparza
 United States
Mary Kom
 India
Lightweight
Katie Taylor
 Ireland
Sofya Ochigava
 Russia
Mavzuna Chorieva
 Tajikistan
Adriana Araujo
 Brazil
Middleweight
Claressa Shields
 United States
Nadezda Torlopova
 Russia
Marina Volnova
 Kazakhstan
Li Jinzi
 China

Medal summary

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain3115
2 Ukraine2125
3 Cuba2024
4 Russia1236
5 Ireland1124
 Kazakhstan1124
7 China1113
8 Japan1012
 United States1012
10 Italy0213
11 Brazil0123
12 Mongolia0112
13 South Korea0101
 Thailand0101
15 Azerbaijan0022
16 Bulgaria0011
 India0011
 Lithuania0011
 Tajikistan0011
 Uzbekistan0011
Totals (20 entries)13132652

Events and concerns

Alleged gold medal fixing

In September 2011, the BBC Newsnight programme uncovered evidence that $9 million (£5.9 million) worth of secret payments were paid to World Series Boxing (WSB), a subcompany of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), by Azerbaijan in return for two gold medals. The AIBA denied the allegations, stating that the secret payments were a loan from an Azerbaijani investor. The AIBA and the International Olympic Committee both started inquiries into the allegations. Subsequently, the AIBA rejected any allegations of corruption, stating “Any suggestion that the loan was made in return for promises of gold medals at the 2012 Olympics is preposterous and utterly untrue".

Refereeing

There were several events in boxing in the 2012 Summer Olympics:

Match Controversy
Magomed Abdulhamidov
 Azerbaijan v.
Satoshi Shimizu
 Japan (Bantamweight)
Azerbaijani boxer Magomed Abdulhamidov, who started the round with a two-point lead, touched the canvas six times in the final round of a bout against Satoshi Shimizu of Japan but still won a decision that included the round being scored 10–10. Referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov from Turkmenistan waved off all the knockdowns and only gave a single warning. Shimizu and Japan protested and successfully appealed the decision. Meretnyyazov was removed from the pool of Olympic referees "with immediate effect" afterwards. According to the AIBA report of the incident, Abdulhamidov should have been given three standing eight counts and the bout scored as RSC in favor of Shimizu. As the initial decision was announced, Teddy Atlas, working as a commentator for U.S. broadcaster NBC, said: "Unbelievable! That's what the referee wanted to do. He wanted to save that fighter. That's incredible!"
Ali Mazaheri
 Iran v.
Jose Larduet
 Cuba (Heavyweight)
German referee Frank Scharmach was suspended for five days after the second-round disqualification of Iran heavyweight Ali Mazaheri for holding Cuba's Jose Larduet. Despite the discipline of the referee, the disqualification of Mazaheri stood, as he received three warnings during the bout. At the time of the disqualification, Mazaheri was ahead by two points. He later called the ruling "a setup."
Sumit Sangwan
 India v.
Yamaguchi Falcão
 Brazil (Light heavyweight)
The Indian Olympic Committee lodged a protest against the judges decision in the match between Indian boxer Sumit Sangwan and Brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao. The judges awarded the match 15–14 in favour of the Brazilian. ESPN commentators who were surprised by the verdict called it "daylight robbery". However, the protest which was specific to Round 2 of the disputed match was turned down by the jury.
Vikas Krishan
 India v.
Errol Spence
 United States (Welterweight)
American Errol Spence successfully appealed his initial 11–13 loss. Using video review, AIBA determined the bout referee gave too few cautions for holding fouls and should have awarded Spence at least four more points.
Evhen Khytrov
 Ukraine v.
Anthony Ogogo
 Great Britain (Middleweight)
After the judges awarded the middleweight match to Ukrainian world number one boxer Yevhen Khytrov and Britain's Anthony Ogogo where both boxers scored 18 points to the British boxer, Ukrainian officials lodged an official protest as they felt aggrieved by the decision in the match where the Ukrainian boxer knocked his opponent down twice. As the appeal was rejected, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine announced that they would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Vazgen Safaryants
 Belarus v.
Han Soon-Chul
 South Korea (Lightweight)
After the match between Belarusian Vazgen Safaryants and South Korea's Han Soon-chul ended 13–13, and as the boxers remained tied on a countback, the judges awarded the match to the South Korean boxer. Subsequently, the coach of the Belarusian boxer appealed against the verdict but the appeal was turned down.
Manoj Kumar
 India v.
Tom Stalker
 Great Britain
(Light welterweight)
After the judges decision to award the match between British boxing team captain Tom Stalker and Indian boxer Manoj Kumar 20–16 in favour of Stalker, the Indian boxer questioned the scoring: "It's like a district competition where there's lots of cheating, cheating, cheating." The ring-side judges were also not in total agreement in the second round which was decided 9–5 in favour of Stalker with a Turkish referee awarding it 7–5 in favour of Kumar. Stalker said: "I don't deal with the scoring, I just get in there and fight. In amateur boxing it happens all the time. You think you've won by more points or something like that, and it's just up to the judges."
Tervel Pulev
 Bulgaria v.
Yamil Peralta
 Argentina (Heavyweight)
After the judges' decision to award the match between Bulgarian boxing team captain Tervel Pulev and Argentinian boxer Yamil Peralta 13–10 in favour to Pulev, the Argentinian media said: "Another theft in the boxing, in spite of losing clearly the second round and only run during the third, Pulev and the judges, classify to semi-finals".
Mark Anthony Barriga
 Philippines v.
Birzhan Zhakypov
 Kazakhstan (Light flyweight)
The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) filed a protest against the decision in the match between Filipino boxer Mark Anthony Barriga and his Kazakh opponent, Birzhan Zhakypov, claiming that Barriga was unfairly warned after being cautioned only once by Canadian referee Roland Labbe, whereas fouls made by Zhakypov (including wrestling Barriga onto the canvas twice) went unnoticed. The protest was turned down by AIBA without the fight tape being reviewed, claiming that the protest was "too subjective to review", and that the protest was lodged on emotional, rather than technical, grounds. In response to the verdict, ABAP president Ricky Vargas noted that "It seems in the battle of 'giants' justice is more difficult to attain for a small country like ours", with Philippine media having noted that a similar appeal filed by the United States had that match's result overturned by AIBA, and The Philippine Star noting that Kazakhstan is an influential member in AIBA and the Asian Boxing Confederation. Had the warning not been given, Barriga would have won the match 18–17.
Teymur Mammadov
 Azerbaijan v.
Siarhei Karneyeu
 Belarus (Heavyweight)
After the match between Azerbaijani boxer Teymur Mammadov and Belarusian boxer Siarhei Karneyeu ended 19–19, the judges awarded the match to Mammadov. Karneyeu seemed to land the wide majority of punches in a third round where he was repeatedly held by Mammadov. The rules state if a boxer receives three warnings in one round, he is automatically disqualified. The excessive clutches, which were illegal, caused Greek referee Nikolaos Poutachidis to give Mammadov two warnings, but stopped short of giving him a third one. NBCOlympics.com replays showed that Mammadov had appeared to initiate more than three clinches during that period. Also if a fighter receives a warning for an infraction, his opponent can receive two points. The official scorecard showed that Karneyeu won the third round 6–4, meaning that if the judges gave Krneyeu full credit for Mammadov's conduct, he would have received four points for penalties—and just two points for punches landed. Belarus filed a protest but it was denied by the AIBA.
Custio Clayton
 Canada v.
Fred Evans
 Great Britain (Welterweight)
The match between Canadian boxer Custio Clayton and British boxer Fred Evans ended with the scores tied at 14–14 and the judges awarded the match to Freddie Evans on the basis of a countback. Not satisfied with the decision, Canada lodged an appeal against the decision, on the basis that Evans was cautioned three separate times for holding during the bout but was not penalized a point for the infraction by the referee. The fight was subsequently reviewed and judged for a second time, but AIBA instead concluded that Evans was "incorrectly cautioned", and as a result did not deserve any point deductions. A news release issued by Boxing Canada director Daniel Trepanier stated: "We are very disappointed in this decision. Custio clearly won the fight in our opinion and this is not a good day for Olympic boxing."
Adilbek Niyazymbetov
 Kazakhstan v.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
 Ukraine (Light heavyweight)
Kazakhstan's Adilbek Niyazymbetov has scored a controversial victory over Ukraine's Oleksandr Gvozdyk in their light heavyweight semi-final. Gvozdyk made a decent start, producing the better quality in a close opening round that ended four points apiece. The Ukrainian was demonstrating some impressive accuracy with single shots that continually tagged Niyazymbetov. Despite being second best for most of the contest, Niyazymbetov found himself just a point behind as the third round approached. Gvozdyk was hardly troubled in the final round but still went on to drop a decision on countback (13–13).

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External links

Media related to Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics at Wikimedia Commons

51°30′27″N 0°01′47″E / 51.5075°N 0.0297°E / 51.5075; 0.0297