Lightweight (≤135 pounds), Men

One of the favored fighters in this division was Germany’s Karl Schmedes, European Championship bronze medalist, but he was eliminated in the very first bout of the competition by José Padilla of the Philippines, who had also competed in Los Angeles.

The second round saw the exit of the European champion, Marino Facchin of Italy, and the big punching Belgian Simon Dewinter. Dewinter’s fight with Andy Scrivani of the USA was costly for the American, as a number of cuts were opened up above his eyes, and the resultant damage was blamed for impeding him in his quarter-final loss against the Swede Erik Ågren. Ågren impressed those at ringside with his skillful performance against the courageous American, and he was briefly considered a possible champion, but then lost his next fight to Nikolai Stepulov of Estonia.

José Padilla’s medal hopes were ended by Imre Harangi of Hungary in the last eight, and the Hungarian continued his run to the final by defeating Poul Kops of Denmark. Estonia had never entered a boxing team before, but Stepulov won the vote of the judges in his first four contests and found himself in the final against Harangi.

The Estonian started strongly in the final, and observers judged him to have taken the first round with a crisp display of punching. By this time, Harangi had began bleeding over both eyes. One cut was measured at nearly four centimetres, with his vision becoming impaired. Despite his injuries, the Hungarian fought back and, from the second round onwards, took the upper hand. An appreciative crowd cheered him as he edged ahead and took the verdict.

Stepulov and Ågren went on to win medals at the 1937 European championships. In the professional ranks, Simon Dewinter, who fought and lost a European title match, was most successful.