Light-Heavyweight (≤81 kilograms), Men

Still only 20-years-old, Andre Ward had a fearsome reputation in his native United States and was the proud possessor of a six year unbeaten run. Whilst this was undoubtedly impressive, critics pointed out that Ward’s appearance at the Pan-American Olympic qualifier was his first major international tournament and that he lacked the experience of his older rivals. The clear favourite for the Olympic title was Yevgeny Makarenko, a Russian who had won all the major championships between the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games and was himself on a long unbeaten run. Ward and Makarenko met in the quarter-finals and, to the surprise of many, it was the American youngster to show impressive maturity to stick to a “hit and run” game plan that confused the more aggressive Russian fighter and carried him to a 23-16 victory. Ward then won a pair of hard fought victories over two other Eastern European opponents to become the United States’ only boxing champion of the 2004 Olympics. To the start of the 2016 Olympics he was the only American male Olympic boxing gold medallist of the 21st century. He soon followed the established tradition of American champions by turning professional and by 2013 had established himself as the premier super-middleweight in the world.