Seoul, 1988: After losing in the 1984 Olympic quarterfinals to American Tyrell Biggs, Canada's Lennox Lewis dominated the super heavyweight division in Seoul. In the quarters, Lewis knocked out class-favorite Ulli Kaden of East Germany with one punch. In the gold-medal bout, he needed just one round and 43 seconds to silence fast-talking American Riddick Bowe. Lewis, born in London but raised in Canada, later fought for Great Britain and retired in 2004 as the reigning world champion.
Seoul, 1988: Bedlam broke out in Seoul when the host nation's bantamweight Byun Jong-Il (pictured) lost a disputed preliminary bout. The boxer's coach and assistant, joined by a group of rabid fans, rushed into the ring and roughed up referee Keith Walker of New Zealand, who had penalized Byun two points for butting. When the chaos subsided, Byun stages a 67-minute sit-down protest, eclipsing the unofficial Olympic record set by countryman Choh Dong-Kih in 1964 (Choh had remained in the ring for 51 minutes after being disqualified from a bout in Tokyo). In the aftermath of Byun's stunt, South Korean Olympic Committee President Kim Chong-Ha resigned, accepting full responsibility. Byun went on to fight professionally and in 1993 won the WBC bantamweight title.
Seoul, 1988: The light middleweight gold-medal bout was dominated by American Roy Jones, who landed punches against South Korea's Park Si-Hun almost at will. However, while Soviet and Hungarian judges gave Jones a lopsided victory, the three other judges awarded Park a slight edge, making him a 3-2 winner. Park reportedly congratulated Jones after the bout and admitted the decision was wrong. Jones, who went on to be a multi-class professional champion, took silver despite winning the Val Barker Cup, given to the outstanding boxer of the Olympic tournament.
Barcelona, 1992: Oscar de la Hoya (pictured) won America's lone boxing title in Barcelona, launching a brilliant career further studded by multiple world titles. De la Hoya, a Mexican-American from Los Angeles, dedicated his Olympic gold to his mother, who had died of cancer two years earlier. De La Hoya was raised on the sweet science -- his grandfather, Vicente, was an amateur featherweight in Durango, Mexico, and his father, Joel, was a professional lightweight in Durango during the 1960s.
Barcelona, 1992: Cuba's powerful boxing team, absent from the previous two Olympics because of boycotts, made a triumphant return in 1992 by winning seven gold and two silver medals. Its most significant victory was by Ariel Hernandez in the middleweight division. By defeating American Chris Byrd in the final, Hernandez became the first Cuban boxer to defeat an American in an Olympic gold-medal bout. Previously, the U.S. had been 3-0 against Cuba in title fights at the Games.
Atlanta, 1996: With David Reid, America's lone boxing finalist in Atlanta, trailing 15-5 in the third round, it looked all but official that the U.S. would fail to win a boxing gold medal for the first Olympics since 1948. But 36 seconds into the third round, Reid avoided a right hook from Cuban Alfredo Duvergel and landed one of his own to send Duvergel to the canvas for a knockout. The instant victory prompted a congratulatory hug from a famous observer -- Muhammad Ali -- who whispered in Reid's ear, "You're a baaaad boy." Reid also shared an emotional embrace with U.S. coach Al Mitchell, the fighter's personal coach from the beginning of his career.
Atlanta, 1996: Paea Wolfgram of Tonga -- a South Pacific nation of some 106,000 -- surprisingly reached the super heavyweight gold-medal bout, twice winning by one point while upsetting Cuba's Alexis Rubalcaba along the way. In the final, the 309-pound former rugby player lost, 7-3, to Ukraine's Vladimir Klichko, but won the admiration of the Atlanta crowds, who serenade him with chants of "Tonga, Tonga." Wolfgram also had the support of his countrymen, who fasted and prayed for him after being instructed to do so by King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.
Sydney, 2000: Cuban Felix Savon, 33, claimed his third consecutive heavyweight crown to join former sparring partner and countryman Teofilo Stevenson as the only boxers to win three Olympic golds in one weight class. (Hungary's Laszlo Papp also won three titles, but in two weight classes). Having dominated the heavyweight division for nearly 15 years, Savon pummeled American Michael Bennett, 18-3, in a much-anticipated second-round bout. He later overcame a cut under his left eye in the final to cement his Olympic immortality.
Athens, 2004: After being shutout of the gold-medal hunt in Sydney, there were no major expectations of U.S. boxing entering these games. But light heavyweight Andre Ward provided a golden moment. The 20-year-old from Oakland, who vowed beforehand “No Silver, No Bronze,” stunned 6-6 Russian world champion Yevgeny Makarenko in the quarterfinals. Ward, who like Makarenko had not lost a bout in five years, confused his burly opponent by switching from southpaw to a right-handed stance. Ward won a 17-15 decision over Utkirbek Haydarov of Uzbekistan in the semifinals, and came from behind after two rounds to decision Magomed Aripgadijiev of Belarus, 20-13, in the final.
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