All About Olympic Boxing - The Sweet Science

Even with rules put in place to protect fighters, a lot of people deplore the brutality of boxing. The images of one person literally smashing another in the face can make some spectators wince.

However, like witnessing a car crash, a lot of those same people look on in fascination and can't turn away from a boxing match, especially at its bloodiest moments. When sports pundits speak of their favourite sporting events to cover, a championship fight always finds its way to the list. They use words like anticipation, adrenaline and the atmosphere is described as being "electric."

At the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, boxing matches are going to be held for 15 days from 9 th August to 24 th August. The finals of the boxing competition will be held on 23 rd and 24 th August. Olympics boxing competition will be an all-male competition. The number of gold medals in contention for boxing is 11. The boxing program will be held at the Workers' Indoor Arena, Gongti Lu in the Chaoyang District. The events included in the boxing program will be light flyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and super heavyweight.

Boxing was a part of the ancient Summer Games. In those days the fight would often end with one boxer's death.

When the modern Summer Games were resumed in 1896 , the Athens organizing committee decided to omit boxing from the Olympics' schedule as it was too dangerous. The sport was introduced to the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis. Again the sport was excluded from Olympic program in 1912 as the Swedish law banned the sport. Later boxing reappeared in the schedule of the Summer Games in 1920. Since then, the sport has been contested at every Summer Games.

Since the 2000 Games, the format of matches has been changed. Instead of the three three-minute rounds that used to be the rule, now there are four two-minute rounds. The idea behind the change is to help reduce injuries that often come late in rounds when boxers are fatigued and more likely to lower their guard.

The added round has meant strategy, defence and technique have become more important than physical conditioning. It also gives less talented fighters a better chance to win.

"You're working two minutes and resting one, so all these guys keep coming out for the next round refreshed," says Anber. "They're getting a longer rest period for less work so you're not getting these guys who are in really good shape and wearing you down with body shots. You now allow a bunch of other fighters, who under the older system of three minutes rounds were not competitive, a bigger advantage."

Like figure skating, judging in boxing has had many scoring controversies but none can compare to the mess that took place at the Seoul Games in 1988. In the welterweight final, American Roy Jones, Jr. dominated South Korean Park Si-hun, landing more than two punches for every one he took.

Everyone watching that lopsided contest assumed Jones would cap his auspicious amateur career with a gold medal. But in a decision that stunned the boxing world and even the Korean fans, Park won a split decision by a vote of three judges to two. Allegations swirled that South Korean officials had bribed the judges, and even Park admitted he should have lost

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