Boxing at the 1980 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Moskva, Soviet Union
Venue(s): Indoor Stadium, Olympiysky Sports Complex, Moskva
Date Started: July 23, 1980
Date Finished: August 2, 1980
Format: Single elimination tournament.
| Gold: | Armando Martínez |
| Silver: | Aleksandr Koshkin |
| Bronze: | Detlef Kästner Ján Franek |
At only 18 years of age light-middleweight Armando Martínez was the baby of the Cuban team but Martínez had already made a big impression when he toured Eastern Europe in early 1980 and racked up an impressive run of victories against some the region's best fighters. The teenager became Olympic champion by beating Aleksandr Koshkin of the USSR in the final. Koshkin took standing counts in both the first and last rounds and lost on a 4-1 judges' decision. The fact that the Polish judge voted for the Soviet brought allegations of collusion between Eastern European countries – even against a fellow Communist country like Cuba. Martínez added the world amateur title in 1982 but injuries hampered his career from then onwards and he retired at an early age.
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armando Martínez | 18 | Cuba | CUB | Gold | |
| 2 | Aleksandr Koshkin | 21 | Soviet Union | URS | Silver | |
| 3T | Ján Franek | 20 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | Bronze | |
| 3T | Detlef Kästner | 22 | East Germany | GDR | Bronze | |
| 5T | Wilson Kaoma | Zambia | ZAM | |||
| 5T | Leonidas Njunwa | 27 | Tanzania | TAN | ||
| 5T | Nicky Wilshire | 18 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 5T | Francisco de Jesus | 24 | Brazil | BRA | ||
| 9T | Salah Jassim Beden | 24 | Iraq | IRQ | ||
| 9T | Imad Idriss | 25 | Syria | SYR | ||
| 9T | Adeoye Adetunji | 22 | Nigeria | NGR | ||
| 9T | Jackson Rivera | 20 | Venezuela | VEN | ||
| 9T | Zhelyu Stefanov | 25 | Bulgaria | BUL | ||
| 9T | George Kabuto | 24 | Uganda | UGA | ||
| 9T | Leo Vainonen | 28 | Sweden | SWE | ||
| 9T | Miodrag Perunović | 22 | Yugoslavia | YUG | ||
| 17T | Roger Houangni | 22 | Benin | BEN | ||
| 17T | Mohamed Halibi | 24 | Lebanon | LIB | ||
| 17T | Benedetto Gravina | 23 | Italy | ITA | ||
| 17T | Zygmunt Gosiewski | 20 | Poland | POL | ||
| 17T | Seifu Retta | 25 | Ethiopia | ETH | ||
| 17T | Marcel Sîrba | 22 | Romania | ROU | ||
| 17T | Mbemba Camara | Guinea | GUI |