The exact origins of boxing are unknown, though some of the earliest evidence, dating from the third millennium BCE, comes from Sumerian artifacts found in present-day Iraq. Boxing was introduced to the ancient Olympic Games in 688 BC, where boxers used soft leather thongs to bind their hands and forearms for protection.
Boxing seemed to disappear with the fall of the Roman Empire before resurfacing in the 17th century in England, where records of amateur boxing began in 1880. Initially, five weight categories were contested: bantam, not exceeding 54 kilos; feather, not exceeding 57 kilos; light, not exceeding 63.5 kilos; middle, not exceeding 73 kilos; and heavy, any weight.
Overview of the Rules
Olympic boxing is governed by a special set of rules. Only amateur boxers are allowed to compete, which means the Olympic Games are often the starting point of a glittering career for some of the biggest names in the sport, including none other than Muhammad Ali who competed as Cassius Clay and won the light heavyweight gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
Between 1984 and 2012, male boxers were required to wear protective headgear, but the rule was abandoned for the 2016 Rio Games. Female boxers are still required to wear head guards. Each bout is disputed over three rounds of three minutes each for men, and four rounds of two minutes each for women.
At the end of every round, each of the judges determine a winner based on the judging criteria and award the victor 10 points for the round. The loser of the round can be awarded anywhere between seven to nine points based on the level of performance in that round. After the bout ends, each judge adds up the round scores to determine a final winner.
Olympic History
Boxing made its debut at the modern Olympic Games in 1904, and has been contested at every Summer Games since – save for the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, as Swedish law banned the sport at the time. Women’s boxing was first introduced to the Olympic programme at London 2012.
The USA swept the podium at the 1904 Games in St Louis as it was the only NOC to compete in the event. Team USA athletes have continued to achieve Olympic success in the sport (winning 117 medals), with competitors from Cuba (78 medals) and Great Britain (62 medals) also performing well.
Journey to Paris
The journey to Paris 2024 is in full swing for boxers dreaming of competing at the next Olympic Games, which take place from 26 July to 11 August in the capital of France.
So far, 197 Olympic boxing quotas have been attributed following last year’s continental qualifiers and the 1st World Qualification Tournament that took place in Busto Arsizio, Italy from March3-11,2024.
For those whose arms were raised victorious, the emotion was palpable, as years of hard work paid off in dramatic – often life-changing – fashion. As for those who did not succeed, all is not lost. There’s one more chance to brush themselves off and go again.
From May 23 to June 3, the 2nd World boxing qualifier will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, offering a final opportunity for boxers to obtain a quota for Paris 2024.
The boxing competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run from July 27 to August 10, 2024. Preliminary boxing matches will occur at Arena Paris Nord in Villepinte, with the medal rounds (semifinals and finals) staged at the iconic Roland Garros Stadium.
The boxing program for Paris 2024 will feature the same amount of weight categories as those in the previous three editions, consisting of thirteen in total (seven for men and six for women). Pursuant to the International Olympic Committee’s mission of attaining full gender equality, the program continues to remain updated with the number of men’s weight classes reduced by one contrary to the women’s side by an increase of one weight category.
In June 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) barred the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) rights to run and organize the tournament due to “continuing irregularity issues in the areas of finance, governance, ethics, refereeing, and judging.” Hence, the IOC executive board established and ratified a new qualification system for Paris 2024 that would witness the boxers obtain the quota spots through the continental multisport events, such as Asian Games, European Games, Pan American Games, African Games, and the Pacific Games.
Competition Format
Pursuant to the IOC’s mission of attaining full gender equality, Paris 2024 will institute another significant change to the boxing program, with the number of weight categories for men reduced from eight to seven, ultimately removing the light heavyweight division. On the other hand, the women’s weight classes witness a corresponding rise from five to six with the bantamweight category introduced.[3]
The male boxers will contest matches in these seven weight classes: 51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg and +92kg.
The female boxers will contest matches in these six weight classes: 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 66kg and 75kg
Qualification for Paris 2024
A total of 248 quota places, with an equal distribution between men and women, are available for eligible boxers to compete in Paris 2024, almost forty fewer overall than those in Tokyo 2020. Qualified NOCs could only send one boxer in each weight category. The host nation France reserves a maximum of six quota places to be equally distributed between men and women in their respective weight categories, while nine places (four for men and five for women) will be entitled to eligible NOCs interested to have their boxers compete in Paris 2024 as abided by the Universality principle.
The qualification period commences in five regional multisport events (African Games, Asian Games, European Games, Pacific Games, and the Pan American Games), set to be served as continental qualifying meets, where a total of 139 spots will be assigned to a specific number of highest-ranked boxers in each weight category. Following the continental phase, the remainder of the total quota will be decided in two world qualification tournaments organized by the IOC in the initial half of the 2024 season, offering another batch of spots available to the highest-ranked eligible boxers in each weight division.
A total of 49 Olympic boxing quotas were distributed during the 1st World boxing qualifier that ended in Busto Arsizio, Italy on March 11, 2024. As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Nesthy Petecio
Nesthy Petecio may get the chance to upgrade her boxing Olympic silver medal at Paris 2024, after securing an Olympic quota for the Philippines at the Road to Paris 1st World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on March 11, 2024.
Following a cagey start in the women’s 57kg bout, the southpaw exploded to life, landing some trademark stinging body shots on Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkiye, who struggled to keep pace. Kahraman responded by coming forward aggressively in the second and third, and caught an increasingly passive Petecio out several times with some pinpoint jabs.
But Petecio used superior ring-craft to protect her lead, and eventually closed out the match with a split decision victory. If selected, she will become the first Filipino female boxer to secure two Olympic quotas.“I am so blessed. This is very important for me because maybe this is my last Olympics.
Petecio put on another perfect display to beat Romania’s Maria Claudia Nechita by unanimous decision in the women’s boxing 57kg round of 32 bout at the Road to Paris 1st World Qualification Tournament on March 7, 2024. The Filipino, who won featherweight silver at Tokyo 2020, was relieved to deliver a good performance after going into this tournament as one of her nation’s top hopes to make the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Tsukimi Namiki of Japan in action against Ingrid Valencia of Colombia
at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the women’s Flyweight
“This is maybe my last Olympics and I’m not sure what the future holds. Today’s performance was good so hopefully it will continue until the final round,” the 31-year-old told Olympics.com after her victory in Busto Arsizio, Italy.“Even at the Tokyo Olympics, I felt the pressure. There is so much pressure again with Paris 2024 so close, and I feel that I’m carrying the whole of the Philippines’ (expectations).
“My coaches told me to focus more on my timing after Tokyo because my power was OK.”Competing a day before International Women’s Day, Petecio, who was born into poverty, had a final message: “I would like to say to all women, keep fighting, we are special.”
“I got this ticket for so many people, especially my family, to God, and for our former President who died, and for my partner in life. Before (the tournament), I promised her that I would win the ticket to Paris and finally this is it! I’m so happy.”I will not stop until I get the Olympic gold medal.”
In the other 57kg semifinal, Julia Szeremeta outlasted USA’s Alyssa Mendoza in a 3-2 split decision to secure a quota for Poland.
Elise Glynn’s Olympic Dream
Elise Glynn also sealed a unanimous decision win in her women’s 57kg round of 32 bouts. The British fighter dominated Latvia’s Jekaterina Sorokina with speed and precision to leave the final scorecard reading 5-0.“Obviously there were a few nerves as it was my opening fight. One down and three to go to qualify for my Olympic dream. I was a bit rusty but I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Glynn said.
The Birmingham native, who switched beauty pageants and cheer-leading for boxing when she was 13, reflected on the bumpy road she experienced when starting out in the sport.“When I started boxing at 13 girls boxing wasn’t a thing and I was told to get out of the gym and I got really hurt by boys. But I love inspiring girls younger than me to go to the gym,” she continued.
“It teaches discipline, friendship, determination, resilience, it gives you a dream, a purpose, and even if it’s just a hobby and you don’t want to compete its great fun and I hope lots of girls can be inspired by me and get into boxing.”The 75kg boxer secured an impressive stoppage win in the women’s quarter-finals in Busto Arsizio, while Team GB’s Chantelle Reid and Patrick Brown also secured Olympic quotas for Paris 2024, live on Olympic Channel.
First Refugee Team Boxer
Cindy Ngamba made history on the final day of the Road to Paris 1st World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on March 11, becoming the first ever Boxing Refugee Team member to secure an Olympic quota.
The Cameroon-born boxer, who relocated to the UK aged 11 and is one of 70 IOC Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders. secured an impressive stoppage victory over Kazakhstan’s Valentina Khalzova in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals, live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
With four Olympic berths available to secure in this weight category, Ngamba and the other quarter-final winners will not box again in the tournament, having each secured a berth for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
While two boxers did represent the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, they were both competing through invitation rather than qualification. If selected for Paris 2024, Ngamba will also become the first ever female refugee boxer to compete in the team at the Olympics.“Every time I fight, I always take the challenge as an opportunity to learn,” Ngamba told Olympics.com after her win.
“My goal was to qualify and I’ve qualified, but that’s not the end of the game. All I can do is improve every time. I’m an open-minded person. I like to learn, I like to improve, and any person that I come across, I always learn from them. They can hit me with a good shot and I’m like, ‘you know what, next time let me try that’.”
Sri Lanka at Olympics
Sri Lanka has participated at the Olympic Games since London 1948. The details of participants are as follows.1948: Flyweight Leslie Perera Handunge, Bantamweight M – Albert Perera; 1952: Flyweight– Leslie Perera Handunge, Lightweight, Basil Henricus; 1956: Bantamweight Hempala Jayasuriya, Lightweight Chandrasena Jayasuriya; 1960: Featherweight Sumith Liyanage, Welterweight Dharmasiri Werakoon; 1964: Flyweight Winston Van Cuylenburg;1968: Light Flyweight Hatha Karunaratne; 2008: Flyweight Anuruddha Ratnayake
Sri Lankan boxers in line for Paris
Two Sri Lankan boxers, Umayanga Mihiran and Rukmal Prasanna have been included in the High Performance pool of the Department of Sports Development and are provided with all the facilities including all opportunities to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Mihiran, a young talent from the Sri Lanka Police Sports Club, clinched the title of Most Outstanding Boxer of the Year for the second consecutive time at the 96th National Boxing Championship.
At just 21-years, Mihiran competes in the 51kg weight class. His stellar performances in 2024 earned him two gold medals, solidifying his position as the Most Outstanding Boxer of the Year and the National Champion. This victory marked Mihiran’s second consecutive National Championship title in the bantamweight category.
Prasanna is a boxer who competes internationally for Sri Lanka. He was placed fifth in the men’s bantamweight 54kg in the Commonwealth Games in 2022. He clinched a gold medal in the 56kg bantamweight class at the Les Ceintures International Boxing meet in France in 2023.
The 23-year old boxer has performed well at the domestic boxing arena winning the L.V Jayaweera, T.B Jayah Memorial Boxing Championship and the Stubbs Shield Boxing Championship in his weight category to secure the International qualification.
