Boxing at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Super heavyweight

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Super heavyweight boxing
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Venue Chamshil Students' Gymnasium
Dates22 September – 2 October
Competitors17 from 17 nations
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Lennox Lewis Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Silver medal icon.svg Riddick Bowe Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svg Aleksandr Miroshnichenko Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Bronze medal icon.svg Janusz Zarenkiewicz Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
  1984
1992  

The men's super heavyweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1988 Summer Olympics. The weight class allowed boxers of more than 91 kilograms to compete. The competition was held from 22 September to 2 October 1988. 17 boxers from 17 nations competed. [1]

Future world heavyweight champion 23-year-old Lennox Lewis of Canada defeated 21-year-old Riddick Bowe of the US in a controversial final. [2]

Background

The super heavyweight event of the 1988 Olympics was weakened by the absence of a Cuban boxer. Teófilo Stevenson, a veteran three-time Olympic champion whose first Olympics were back in 1972, did not retire anticipating these Olympics. [3] He announced his retirement shortly after the Cuban government decided to boycott the Games. He was 36 years of age in 1988. In contrast, future finalists Lewis and Bowe were rather young, 23 and 21 years old respectively. Possible Cuban alternate Jorge Luis González, 24, had defeated both Bowe and Lewis at the 1987 Pan American Games. [4]

It was predicted that the gold medal would be contested between the North Americans Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe and Europeans Ulli Kaden and Alex Miroshnichenko. [1]

Medalists

Gold Lennox Lewis
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Silver Riddick Bowe
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Bronze Aleksandr Miroshnichenko
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union
Bronze Janusz Zarenkiewicz
Flag of Poland.svg Poland

Results

The following boxers took part in the event: [1]

RankNameCountry
1 Lennox Lewis Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
2 Riddick Bowe Flag of the United States.svg  United States
3T Aleksandr Miroshnichenko Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
3T Janusz Zarenkiewicz Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
5T Kim Yu-hyeon Flag of South Korea (1984-1997).svg  South Korea
5T Peter Hrivňák Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia
5T Ulli Kaden Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany
5T Andreas Schnieders Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany
9T Ali Al-Baluchi Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait
9T Mohamed Hammad Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan
9T Petar Stoimenov Flag of Bulgaria (1971-1990).svg  Bulgaria
9T Biko Botowamungu Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
9T Crispine Odera Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
9T Aziz Salihu Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia
9T Harold Arroyo Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico
9T Ovwigbo Uba Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
17T Tshibalabala Kadima Flag of Zaire (1971-1997).svg  Zaire

First round

Second round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Bowe was the more effective fighter in the first round, landing 33 of 94 punches thrown (34%) while Lewis landed 14 of 67 (21%). In the first round the referee from East Germany gave Bowe two cautions for headbutts and deducted a point for a third headbutt. Commentator Ferdie Pacheco disagreed with the deduction, saying they did not hit heads. In the second round, Lewis landed several hard punches. The referee gave Bowe two standing eight counts and waved the fight off after the second one, even though Bowe seemed able to continue. Pacheco disagreed with the stoppage, calling it "very strange", but Marv Albert said Bowe took "a pounding." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riddick Bowe</span> American boxer (born 1967)

Riddick Lamont Bowe is an American former professional boxer and former professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing. He held the undisputed world heavyweight championship in 1992, and won the super heavyweight silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janusz Zarenkiewicz</span> Polish boxer

Janusz Zarenkiewicz is a Polish former amateur boxer. He won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he forfeited his semi-final fight to eventual gold medalist Lennox Lewis. Zarenkiewicz also won bronze at the 1985 European Championships and was a five-time Polish national champion.

Aleksandr Viktorovich "Alex" Miroshnichenko was a Russian-Kazakh professional boxer. As an amateur he represented the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulli Kaden</span> East German boxer

Ulrich Kaden is a former East German amateur boxer, best known for winning the European title 1987 and 1989 at super heavyweight.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Boxing at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's Super Heavyweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. "The Seoul Olympics Boxing Ends in Controversy". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. "The champ retires at 55". Prisma world news review. 6 (9): 1. July 1988.
  4. Agacino, Ricardo (September 1988). "Cuba and the US in the Ring". Cuba International (63): 45–46. ISSN   0011-2593.
  5. "Lennox Lewis vs Riddick Bowe 88 Olympic Final" . Retrieved 3 May 2017.