Boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics: what you need to know, when and where the fights will take place

Boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics: what's new?

Compared to the Tokyo Games, and in fulfilment of the International Olympic Committee's mission to achieve gender equality, at the Paris Games the number of men's weight classes will be reduced from eight to seven. It was decided to abandon fights in the light-heavyweight division (between 76 and 79 kilograms).

For women, the number of weight categories will be increased from five to six and a bantamweight category (between 51 and 53.5 kilograms) will be introduced.

Boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics: what are the weight categories?

In boxing, men will compete in the following weight categories:

• up to 51kg
• up to 57 kg
• up to 63.5 kg
• up to 71 kg
• up to 80 kg
• up to 92 kg
• over 92 kg

Women will have the following weight categories:

• up to 51kg
• up to 54 kg
• up to 57 kg
• up to 60 kg
• up to 66 kg
• up to 75 kg

Boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics: what are the rules?

The fights at the Olympics are much shorter than professional fights. Each fight at the Olympics consists of three rounds of three minutes. There is a one-minute break between rounds. If all five judges are sure that a boxer has taken at least two rounds, he will win the fight by unanimous decision of the judges.

If there is no unanimity between the judges, then the winner will be determined by a split decision. 10 points are awarded for a round win and 7 to 9 points for a loss, depending on performance.

Boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics: when and where will the fights take place?

The preliminary fights (i.e. those that will determine the semi-finalists of the tournaments) in both the women's and men's tournaments will take place at the Paris-Nord Arena in Villepinte. The medal battles will take place at the legendary Roland Garros stadium, which traditionally hosts one of the four major tennis tournaments.

The first fights will take place immediately after the opening ceremony - on 27 July. Some weight categories, such as up to 51 kg, up to and over 92 kg for men, as well as up to 75 kg for women, will start right from the round of 16 stage, while in other weight categories there will be fights in the round of 16.

Only one day of the Games, namely 5 August, there will be no boxing fights. The final fights will take place from 6 to 10 August.

History of boxing at the Olympic Games

Boxing is one of the oldest sports in the Olympics. It appeared at the St Louis Games in 1904 and only once, at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, there was no boxing. All because Swedish law at the time banned the sport.

Notably, professional boxers were banned from the Olympics until 2016. Four years earlier, at the London Games, a women's boxing tournament was included in the programme for the first time.

American boxers lead in the medal standings: 50 gold, 27 silver and 40 bronze medals. But, it should be taken into account that until 1948, the losers of the semi-finals fought each other in a battle for third place, and since 1952, bronze medals are immediately awarded to both defeated in the semi-finals.