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a far cra ier fighter—not to mention a
more accomplishedone. By the timehe got
toBeijing, hewas the reigningworld cham-
pion in the flyweight division and seemed
to be TeamUSA’s best hope for gold.
In the final round of his first fight,
though, havingassumedhewaswell ahead
onpoints,Warren spent the last 30 seconds
dancing out of harm’s way. A er the bell
sounded, the judges scored himone point
behind his SouthKorean opponent. When
the decision was read, Warren hurled his
mouthpiece to the canvas. He broke down
in tears and asked to go home.
These days, Warren calmly insists he got
a bumdeal in Beijing. He relates this from
memory, not from frequent screenings
of the fight; in fact, he says, he’s viewed it
only once. “My coachmademe watch it so
I could see how my style has evolved,” he
says. “In the ’08Olympics Iwasmore about
combinations and turning. NowI’mrelying
onbig punches. I’ve developed to the point
where I’m all about speed and power.”
Yet for all the swagger that being a
knockout fighter entails, the usuallyflashy
Warren holds off on celebrating once his
RING TIME
Memorable moments in Olympic boxing history
Boxing debuts
at the ancient
Olympic Games
in Greece,
featuring fighters
whose hands
and forearms are
bound with soft
oxhide thongs,
called
himantes
,
for protection.
The late decision
to include boxing
at the London
Olympic Games
results in a
local-heavy roster.
No Americans
fight, and Great
Britain takes
home 14 out of
15 medals.
In Melbourne, the
U.S.S.R. claims
three gold medals
in only its second
Olympic Games,
while Hungarian
László Papp
becomes the first
three-time
Olympic box-
ing champion.
In St. Louis, boxing
makes its first
appearance at the
modern Olympic
Games. All 44
fighters are from
the U.S.;
Oliver
Kirk
wins gold in
the bantamweight
and featherweight
divisions.
Boxing is dropped
from the lineup
of competition
when the Olympic
Games come to
Sweden, where
the sport is
forbidden at the
time. (The Swedes
have since won 11
boxing medals.)
In Rome, Cuba
enters fighters
in the Olympic
Games for the first
time (today it’s
second only to the
U.S. in number of
boxing medals).
An 18-year-old
named
Cassius
Clay
wins gold.
688 B.C.
1912
1960
1908
1956
1904
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