Heavyweight (>81 kilograms), Men

Teófilo Stevenson was aiming for an unprecedented third successive title in the same weight category and, although perhaps not the powerhouse that he had been in 1972 and 1976, he was still the favourite to achieve the feat. With Peter Hussing, the European champion from West Germany, and American James Broad missing due to the boycott his chief adversary appeared to be East German champion Jürgen Fanghänel but Fanghänel fell at the semi-final stage to home fighter Pyotr Zayev. Zayev gave Stevenson a good fight in the final and some thought that he may even have been a little unlucky to lose the verdict, it was the Cuban who took the gold on a 4-1 decision. Stevenson missed the 1984 Olympic Games due to the reciprocal boycott but claimed another world championship title at the age of 34 in 1986. He is widely considered the all-time greatest amateur heavyweight.