What Is Olympic Boxing and How Does it Work?

The Paris 2024 boxing tournament consists of seven weight classes for men and six for women. The preliminary rounds will be at the Arena Paris Nord, the second-largest convention centre in France close to Charles de Gaulle Airport, while the semi-finals and finals will be at the iconic Roland Garros Stadium, home of the French Open tennis tournament. But what is Olympic boxing and what are the rules?

It’s a story that can be traced far back into history. Here’s your boxing Olympics guide.

The origin of boxing as a competitive sport with a set of rules has been lost to history, but early forms of this type of combat may have roots in ancient Ethiopia, perhaps as early as 6000 BC. The earliest visual representations are from some of the cradles of civilisation – Egypt and Sumer – around 3000 BC, and it’s thought primitive types of gloves were used around 1500 – 1400 BC.

Forms of boxing developed in ancient India and across Southeast Asia, and a form of boxing called pygmachia emerged in ancient Greece. In Rome, boxing events drew huge crowds in the city’s amphitheatres.

Bare-knuckle boxing appeared in England in the sixteenth century, and these events grew in popularity over the following centuries. In the eighteenth century, prizefighter James Figg was a famous and widely-renowned champion of his day.

Several sets of rules were proposed, including the London Prize Ring Rules – some of which are still followed today, including the outlawing of several dangerous moves, holding the ropes, and hitting a fighter when they’re down. However, the most famous set of rules governing boxing is the Marquess of Queensbury Rules, the laws of which form the basis of the modern sport.

Boxing at the Olympics began at the 23rd Olympiad in 688 BC, where the fighters would bind their hands and forearms with soft leather straps. The winner was either the last competitor standing or until one acknowledged defeat and wouldn’t, or couldn’t, continue. It’s unknown in how many of the ancient Olympiads boxing – or its predecessor – appeared, but the men’s version of the sport made its competitive modern Olympic debut at St Louis 1904.

The event has since appeared at every edition of the Games, aside from Stockholm 1912, because martial arts were banned in Sweden at that time. Women’s boxing made its competitive Olympic debut at London 2012.

At the Olympic Games, boxing is one of the most established events and has spawned the careers of some of the most famous names in the sport, including Muhammed Ali, Oscar de la Hoya, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Oleksandr Usyk, Lennox Lewis, Anthony Joshua, Wladimir Klitschko, Nicola Adams, and Claressa Shields.

At Paris 2024, the men will compete for seven medals and the women, six. The weight classes are as follows (all in kilograms) –

Men: 51 ∙ 57 ∙ 63.5 ∙ 71 ∙ 80 ∙ 92 ∙ 92+

Women: 50 ∙ 54 ∙ 57 ∙ 60 ∙ 66 ∙ 75

For most of the weight classes, the tournament starts with a round of 32, followed by a round of 16, then a quarter-final, semi-final and final. Just four start at the round of 16 stage (men’s 51, 92 and 92+kg, and women’s 75kg).

There are 68 participating nations at Paris 2024, and the nations with the most competitors are Australia, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Ireland, and Kazakhstan. Countries sending just one boxer to Paris include Tonga, Solomon Islands, Mali, Armenia, Finland, and The Netherlands.

The official Queensberry Rules are detailed and complex, and the Olympic rules for boxing are slightly different to those of regular boxing, but in summary –

• Prior to Rio 2016, only amateur boxers were allowed to compete at the Olympics. From 2016 onwards, professionals are allowed to compete.
• Men’s fights are contested over three rounds of three minutes each.
• Women’s fights are contested over four rounds of two minutes each.
• Men are no longer required to wear protective headgear (the rule was abandoned after London 2012) but women are still required to wear head guards.
• Judges award the winner of each round ten points based on a set criteria. The loser of each round is awarded anywhere between seven and nine points depending on performance. At the end of each bout, the points are totalled for each boxer and the winner is determined.

Up to and including Tokyo 2020, the participating nations have shared 996 medals. Historically, boxing at the Olympics has been dominated by the USA, who have, in total, 117 medals (50 gold, 27 silver, and 40 bronze). Second in the overall medal table is Cuba with 78 medals (41 gold, 19 silver, 18 bronze) and third is Great Britain with 62, made up of 20 gold, 15 silver and 27 bronze.

We hope you enjoyed reading this boxing Olympics guide and don’t forget, you can catch all the action from Paris 2024 on discovery+!