West German flyweight boxer Manfred Homberg reached the quarterfinals at the 1960 Roma Olympics, losing to eventual silver medalist Sergey Sivko from the USSR. In 1957 and 1959 Homberg won the European Championships. In 1959 he was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, the highest sports award in West Germany. Homberg won West German flyweight titles in 1958 and 1959. In 1961 he upgraded to bantamweight, again winning the national title. By profession, Homberg was a trained telecommunication mechanic. He never turned pro, as he did not want to lose his job.