At the 1904 Summer Olympics, seven boxing events were contested. The competitions were held on Wednesday, September 21, 1904 and on Thursday, September 22, 1904. Contestants in lighter weight classes could also compete in heavier classes. Oliver Kirk, winning the bantamweight and featherweight categories, thus became the only boxer to have won two gold medals in the same Olympics. George Finnegan, Harry Spanjer and Charles Mayer won one gold and one silver medal.
Poland competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 140 competitors, 115 men and 25 women, took part in 87 events in 12 sports.
The lightweight boxing competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held from 16 to 29 August at Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. This is limited to those boxers weighing between 57 and 60 kilograms.
Ireland competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 38 competitors, 33 men and 5 women, took part in 27 events in 6 sports. Ireland won its first Olympic medal as an independent nation as Pat O'Callaghan won the gold medal in the men's hammer throw.
Ireland competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. Until 2012, it was the nation's most successful Olympic performance, with five medals, including two golds.
Poland competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 177 competitors, 140 men and 37 women, took part in 112 events in 16 sports.
Southern Rhodesia competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This was the first time the country had participated in the Olympic Games. It was one of two British Crown colonies who were allowed, by the International Olympic Committee, to compete as independent nations at the Games. Rhodesia was represented by two boxers; neither were able to reach the medal rounds of their respective tournaments.
The lightweight was the median boxing weight class held as part of the Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Wednesday, September 21, 1904 and on Thursday, September 22, 1904. It was the first time the event, like all other boxing events, was held in Olympic competition. Lightweights had to be less than 61.2 kilograms. Eight boxers competed.
The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the fourth-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 135.5 pounds. The competition was held from August 21, 1920 to August 24, 1920. 16 boxers from ten nations competed.
The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the fourth-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 135 pounds. The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Thirteen boxers from 13 nations competed.
Kyrgyzstan competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.
The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the fourth-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 135 pounds. The competition was held from Tuesday, August 11, 1936 to Saturday, August 15, 1936. Twenty-six boxers from 26 nations competed.
The men's lightweight boxing competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held from 30 July to 12 August at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.
The boxing tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 21 August 2016 at the Pavilion 6 of Riocentro.
The men's lightweight boxing competition at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held from 9 to 13 August at the Empress Hall in Earl's Court and the Wembley Arena.
The boxing tournaments at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021 at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. On 22 May 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) had been stripped of the right to organise the tournament, due to "issues in the areas of finance, governance, ethics and refereeing and judging". Boxing will instead be organised by an ad-hoc task force led by Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation.
The men's lightweight boxing competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6–16 August at the Riocentro.
Teófimo Andrés López Rivera is a Honduran-American professional boxer who has held the IBF lightweight title since 2019. He competed in the men's lightweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, representing Honduras, where he was defeated in the first round by eventual silver medalist Sofiane Oumiha.
The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1952 Summer Olympics. The weight class allowed boxers of up to 60 kilograms to compete. The competition was held from 28 July to 2 August 1952. 27 boxers from 27 nations competed.
The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1960 Summer Olympics. The weight class allowed boxers of up to 60 kilograms to compete. The competition was held from 25 August to 5 September 1960. 34 boxers from 4 nations competed.
