Boxing at the 2012 London Summer Games:

The 2008 Olympic champion Zou Shiming arrived in London having won every major championship he had contested since 2007. The only question mark against him was his age – at 31 he was considered ancient for a light-flyweight. As it turned out London was kind to the more experienced boxers and, at 26, Irishman Paddy Barnes was the youngster amongst the semi-finalists.

Barnes had been shut out by Zou in the semi-finals at Beijing but in London he fought the title holder to a hugely entertaining 15-15 tie before losing on countback. The other semi saw an upset as the Thai soldier Kaeo Pongprayoon comfortably disposed of David Ayrapetyan of Russia.

Pongprayoon appeared to have the better of Zhou in the final but, in a messy bout where both men were warned for negative tactics, the Chinese fighter retained his Olympic title by 13-10. A chorus of booing greeted the decision.