Lightweight (≤60 kilograms), Men

Howard Davis, Jr. had won the 1974 World Championships as a featherweight and, moving up in class, was considered a favorite for the 1976 Olympic lightweight gold medal. But two days before the Olympics started, his mother died of a heart attack. Davis elected to fight on, and honor his mother’s memory by winning a gold medal. He did so, and was virtually unchallenged, winning his first two bouts when they were stopped early, and taking the semi-final and final by unanimous decisions. In the final he defeated Romania’s Simion Cutov, who had won a silver medal as a light-welter at the 1974 World Championships. For his efforts, Davis was awarded the Val Barker Trophy as the top boxer of the Olympics. He turned professional and had a long career, only retiring in 1996, with a career record of 36 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw. Four of his losses came in his four world title fights, and he never managed to win a professional belt. This class was decimated by the African boycott. Eleven African boxers were forced to withdraw from round two, with two matches voided as both boxers withdrew.