2012 london olympics.com

2012 London Olympics| Boxing Information

There is Professional boxing - where boxers qualify to fight for money, and Amateur boxing - which is practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations.

• In professional boxing, the fighters don’t wear headgear, and the rounds are longer in time, and there are up to 12 rounds per fight.
• Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring (based on number of clean punches landed) rather than physical power. Bouts comprise four rounds of two minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and four rounds of two minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds.

The standard equipment competitors will have to wear at the 2012 London Olympics will be protective headgear and gloves, with a white strip across the knuckle. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands on the head or upper body is scored as a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from punching. The referee also monitors the punches to ensure there are no low blows. Each fighter has to wear a belt. Any punch below this belt is not counted, and if a fighter punches low after they have been warned, they will then be disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is injured. They will also stop the fight if they consider one boxer to be dominating the other and the fight looks totally unbalanced.

Men's weight divisions -

• Light Flyweight 48 kg
• Flyweight 51 kg
• Bantamweight 54 kg
• Featherweight 57 kg
• Lightweight 60 kg
• Light Welterweight 64 kg
• Welterweight 69 kg
• Middleweight 75 kg
• Light Heavyweight 81 kg
• Heavyweight 91 kg
• Super Heavyweight 91 kg +

Woman and junior weight divisions -

• Strawweight 46 kg
• Light Flyweight 48 kg
• Flyweight 50 kg
• Light Bantamweight 52 kg
• Bantamweight 54 kg
• Featherweight 57 kg
• Lightweight 60 kg
• Light Welterweight 63 kg
• Welterweight 66 kg
• Light Middleweight 70 kg
• Middleweight 75 kg
• Light Heavyweight 80 kg
• Heavyweight 86 kg
• Butchweight 92kg +

Women's boxing, which was not included in Beijing, is again being considered for inclusion. Boxing is the only Summer Olympic sport that does not include events for women. The IOC will meet in 2009 to decide which new events to include in the program for the London 2012 Olympics.

2012 London Olympics – Boxing

We have just finished a rather disappointing Beijing Olympics in the Boxing Arena. Let us hope that our fighters will be ready so they can win some medals at the 2012 London Olympics. Let’s hope no one will be sent home. We have almost a full 4 years before the London Olympics begin, surely we can get the preparation correct for this one.

Boxing: Early Times
From the earliest of times there has been boxing. A couple of centuries ago, boxers fought with leather wrapped around their fists. In 1867 Marquess of Queensbury  introduced the Queensbury rules.

Today’s Boxing
Olympic Boxing is governed by AIBA. Amateur boxing is different from professional boxing, and the amateur boxers are better protected with head gear to prevent serious injuries. The Referees are quicker to stop a fight if the believe the fighter is hurt.

Olympic boxers compete in 11 weight classes, from under 48 kilograms to over 91 kilograms. The length of the fight is four, two-minute rounds. Boxers can only score a point when they strike the head or upper body of the opponent.

The “Ring” as it is called is a “Square”, and the opponents are given either a red or blue corner which is at opposite ends. The fighters meet up in the middle of the ring and fight under the control of a strict referee.

• Throw in the towel - The traditional way to concede defeat. A boxer's assistant will throw a towel into the ring when he feels his man can no longer continue.
• Southpaw - A left-handed boxer
• Jab - A straight, arm-length punch thrown from the boxer’s leading hand
• Uppercut - An upwards-thrown punch designed to hit an opponent’s chin
• Hook - A sideways-thrown punch in which the boxer swings his arm from the shoulder with the elbow bent.

Olympic Boxing Greats

there have been some really outstanding greats who have fought at various Olympic Games. Mohamed Ali, Lennox Lewis and fairly recent Amir Khan. Women are not permitted to fight, but they do fight at professional level. Who knows - maybe they will include women in the 2012 Olympics Boxing. 

Simple Terms used -