The main hotbed of professional boxing talent is undoubtedly amateur boxing.
Boxing is a sport that has been around for centuries.
It is one of the most popular sports in the world. The first Olympic boxing (Amateur Boxing) tournament was held in 1904.
The amateur boxing scene has served as a stepping stone for many boxing today’s legends.
In 1960, Muhammad Ali was already a household name in the United States as the Olympic gold medalist at light heavyweight.
The 1976 Montreal gold medal launched Olympic Boxer Ray Leonard onto the Wheaties box cover.
Many of the most prominent pound-for-pound boxers launched their careers at the Olympics.
The first Olympic boxing tournament was held in 1904 and it has been around for centuries.
Boxing is one of the world’s most popular sports, with many legendary boxers including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Jack Dempsey.
Meldrick Taylor
Meldrick Taylor was a professional boxer who became an amateur boxer. Taylor was the first Olympic gold medalist to become a professional world champion.
He won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics before capturing the WBA welterweight title in 1987. He won the championship four times before losing it to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1989.
Taylor is one of only three boxers, along with Pernell Whitaker and Oscar De La Hoya, to have won world titles at both featherweight and welterweight.
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a professional boxer and a former Olympic gold medalist. He is the only boxer in history to win titles in six weight divisions.
He was born on February 4, 1973, in East Los Angeles, California. His father was a Mexican immigrant who had been an amateur boxer and his mother was a Mexican-American who had been a swimmer.
De La Hoya started boxing at the age of eight and won the National Junior Olympics title in 1987, certainly Oscar’s Olympic gold medal as an amateur welterweight came undoubtedly.
The great Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former professional boxer and Olympic gold medalist, He was the first person to win an Olympic gold medal and then go on to become a world heavyweight champion.
Spinks was born in 1953 in Detroit, Michigan. He started boxing at the age of 12 and won his first amateur fight at the age of 13. In 1972, he won a gold medal in boxing at the Munich Olympics. After winning his gold medal, he turned professional and became one of the youngest heavyweight champions ever at just 22 years old.
And the list goes on and on.
Here are the greatest fighters who won Olympic medals in Amateur boxing history
- Ivan Calderon
- Daniel Zaragoza
- Andre Ward
- Miguel Cotto
- Wladimir Klitschko
- Michael Spinks
- Floyd Patterson
- Virgil Hill
- Mark Breland
- Antonio Tarver
- Michael Carbajal
- Brian Viloria
- Vernon Forrest
- Jermain Taylor
- Fernando Vargas
- Frank Tate
- John John Molina