Featherweight (≤57 kilograms), Men

The man who, at the beginning of 1980, would have been expected to start as favourite for the Olympic title was not present in Moscow. Bernard Taylor, the American who had won the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1979, was a victim of the US boycott. Taylor would win 481 of his 489 amateur fights but was never able to represent his country at the Olympic Games. This established 1976 medalist and current European champion Viktor Rybakov as the clear favourite at featherweight though both Luis Pizarro of Puerto Rico and Adolfo Horta, a Cuban who was dropping down a weight division, were also thought of contenders. Horta defeated Pizzaro in the quarter-final and then reached the final via a walkover, but Rybakov was eliminated in his semi-final by East Germany’s Rudi Fink, a fighter who was national champion but who was previously untested in major international competition. Fink proved a revelation and took his semi-final form into the gold medal bout and, with the crowd in the arena chanting “Rudi, Rudi” in his honour, won a close but deserved decision over Horta. During the final Horta’s trainer was sent from the arena for excessive coaching. Fink never again reached the same level of success and was beaten in his first bout at the 1981 European Championships where Rybakov was again champion. Although they did not win medals in Moscow three boxers present went on to long and successful professional careers. Ireland’s Barry McGuigan, Antonio Esparragoza of Venezuela and Daniel Londas all held world titles during their careers.