Boxing at Paris 2024 (Les Jeux de la XXXIII Olympiade)

As some may or may not be aware, last year the IOC took over and barred the IBA - formerly AIBA - from administrating the sport of boxing in the Olympics following various corruption scandals. They've created their own ad-hoc committee to administer boxing themselves for now.

(for some background on those developments, click here)

There is still a series of qualification events allowing the highest placing athletes to secure a spot at international tourneys, as in the past (the African, Asian, European, Pacific and Pan-American Games). Continuing the recent Olympics trends, professionals will be allowed to compete alongside their amateur counterparts. There are still qualifiers remaining late this year and early next, so the following declared list is as yet incomplete.

Men's:

• 51kg (flyweight)
  Qualified fighters: Billal Bennama (FRA), Samet Gümüş (TUR), Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM), Thitisan Panmot (THA), Hasanboy Dusmatov (UZB), Yunior Alcantara (DOM), Michael Trindade (BRA)
• 57kg (featherweight)
  Qualified fighters: Javier Ibáñez Díaz (BUL), Nebil Ibrahim (SWE), Vasile Usturoi (BEL), José Quiles (ESP), Dolapo Omole (NGR), Abdulmalik Khalokov (UZB), Shudai Harada (JPN), Jahmal Harvey (USA), Saidel Horta (CUB)
• 63.5kg (light welterweight)
  Qualified fighters: Dean Clancy (IRL), Sofiane Oumiha (FRA), Lasha Guruli (GEO), Richárd Kovács (HUN), Jugurtha Ait Bekka (ALG), Lai Chu-en (TPE), Baatarsükhiin Chinzorig (MGL), Wyatt Sanford (CAN), Miguel Ángel Ramírez (MEX)
  
• 71kg (light middleweight)
  Qualified fighters: Makan Traoré (FRA), Nikolai Terteryan (DEN), Tuğrulhan Erdemir (TUR), Vahid Abasov (SRB), Omar Elawady (EGY), Kan Chia-wei (TPE), Sewon Okazawa (JPN), Marco Verde (MEX), Jose Rodriguez Tenorio (ECU)
  
• 80kg (light heavyweight)
  Qualified fighters: Salvatore Cavallaro (ITA), Oleksandr Khyzhniak (UKR), Gabrijel Veočić (CRO), Murad Allahverdiyev (AZE), Abdelrahman Oraby (EGY), Toqtarbek Tanatqan (CHN), Eumir Marcial (PHI), Arlen López (CUB), Wanderley Pereira (BRA)
  
• 92kg (heavyweight)
  Qualified fighters: Jack Marley (IRL), Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (ITA), Olaitan Olaore (NGR), Han Xuezhen (CHN), Davlat Boltaev (TJK), Keno Machado (BRA), Julio César La Cruz (CUB)
  
• +92kg (super heavyweight)
  Qualified fighters: Mahammad Abdullayev (AZE), Delicious Orie (GBR), Mourad Kadi (ALG), Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ), Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB), Abner Teixeira (BRA), Joshua Edwards (USA)
  

Women's:

• 50kg (light flyweight)
  Qualified fighters: Buse Naz Çakıroğlu (TUR), Giordana Sorrentino (ITA), Laura Fuertes (ESP), Wassila Lkhadiri (FRA), Roumaysa Boualam (ALG), Yasmine Moutaqui (MAR), Oyuntsetsegiin Yesügen (MGL), Wu Yu (CHN), Chuthamat Raksat (THA), Nikhat Zareen (IND), Caroline de Almeida (BRA), Jennifer Lozano (USA)
• 54kg (light bantamweight - first time being used)
  Qualified fighters: Charley Davison (GBR), Stanimira Petrova (BUL), Lenuța Perijoc (ROU), Hatice Akbaş (TUR), Widad Bertal (MAR), Yomna Ayyad (EGY), Preeti Pawar (IND), Chang Yuan (CHN), Pang Chol-mi (PRK), Nigina Uktamova (UZB), Yeni Arias (COL), Tatiana de Jesus (BRA)
  
• 57kg (featherweight)
  Qualified fighters: Svetlana Staneva (BUL), Irma Testa (ITA), Michaela Walsh (IRL), Amina Zidani (FRA), Khouloud Hlimi (TUN), Marcelat Sakobi Matshu (COD), Parveen Hooda (IND), Lin Yu-ting (TPE), Karina Ibragimova (KAZ), Mijgona Samadova (TJK), Valeria Arboleda (COL), Ashleyann Lozada (PUR), Jucielen Romeu (BRA), Omailyn Alcala (VEN)
  
• 60kg (lightweight)
  Qualified fighters: Kellie Harrington (IRL), Estelle Mossely (FRA), Gizem Özer (TUR), Natalia Shadrina (SRB), Hadjila Khelif (ALG), Cynthia Ogunsemilore (NGR), Thananya Somnuek (THA), Won Ung-yong (PRK), Wu Shih-yi (TPE), Yang Wenlu (CHN), Angie Paola Valdes (COL), María José Palacios (ECU), Jajaira Gonzalez (USA), Beatriz Ferreira (BRA)
• 66kg (welterweight)
  Qualified fighters: Luca Hámori (HUN), Oshin Derieuw (BEL), Rosie Eccles (GBR), Busenaz Sürmeneli (TUR), Alcinda Panguana (MOZ), Imane Khelif (ALG), Yang Liu (CHN), Janjaem Suwannapheng (THA), Morelle McCane (USA), Barbara Maria dos Santos (BRA)
  
• 75kg (middleweight)
  Qualified fighters: Davina Michel (FRA), Aoife O'Rourke (IRL), Khadija El-Mardi (MAR), Li Qian (CHN), Lovlina Borgohain (IND), Tammara Thibeault (CAN), Atheyna Bylon (PAN)

The only division that will overlap with representation from both genders is featherweight. Interesting.

Those more well versed across the am/pro scene - who are we looking out for? Early faves to medal?

 

"Javier Ibáñez Díaz" is...Bulgarian?

 

Said it's his last one.

 

The most shocking thing for me is there being so few Cubans and so many Egyptians (three from each country).

 

Only two male and three female boxers from the USA have qualified so far, but team Stars 'n' Stripes is already the bookmakers' favorite (-1000 at pointspreads.com) to claim the most golds. They've failed to do so just once since 1996 - in '08 at Beijing.

 

Opening ceremonies will be Friday, July 26th. Boxing competition will start the very next morning and continue daily until Sunday, August 4th. Finals will take place from Tuesday, August 6th until Saturday, August 10th (one day before the closing ceremonies).

 

Correction: those are the numbers for overall gold medal sweeps in the last eight Games - as in, combined across all sports. Americans do remain also the Vegas odds-on fave to bring in the biggest haul in boxing and usually collect the lion's share of precious alloys in the sport as well, however, with a total 117 medals (50 gold); followed by Cuba in second place with 78 total, 41 gold and the UK with 61/20g.

 

Just worked out I'd need to live to be a wildly improbable 109 years old to see the 50th edition of the Summer Olympiad. (Roman numeral L)