Boxing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Lightweight

Boxing competitions

Men's lightweight boxing

at the Games of the IV Olympiad

Date| October 27, 1908
Competitors| 12 from 3 nations
Medalists
| |  |  Frederick Grace|  Great Britain

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|  |  Frederick Spiller|  Great Britain
|  |  Harry Johnson|  Great Britain

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Boxing at the
1908 Summer Olympics

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| Featherweight
| Lightweight
| Middleweight
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The lightweight was one of five boxing weight classes contested on the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Like all other boxing events, it was open only to men. The boxing competitions were held on October 27. The lightweight was the middle class, allowing boxers of up to 140 pounds (63.5 kg). Twelve boxers from three nations competed.[1] Each NOC could enter up to 12 boxers.[2] Australasia entered 1 boxer, who withdrew; France entered 3 boxers, 2 of whom withdrew; Denmark entered 2 boxers; and Great Britain entered 9 boxers.

## Competition format

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There were three rounds in each bout, with the first two rounds being three minutes long and the last one going four minutes. Two judges scored the match, giving 5 points to the better boxer in each of the first two rounds and 7 to the better boxer in the third round. Marks were given to the other boxer in proportion to how well he did compared to the better. If the judges were not agreed on a winner at the end of the bout, the referee could either choose the winner or order a fourth round.[3]

## Results

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### Bracket

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| Round of 16
October 27 | | | Quarterfinals
October 27 | | | Semifinals
October 27 | | | Final
October 27 |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|  Harry Johnson (GBR) | 2 | | | |
|  Hemming Hansen (DEN) | 0 | | |  Johnson (GBR) | 2 |
|  Harry Holmes (GBR) | KO2 | | |  Holmes (GBR) | 1 |
|  André Bouvier (FRA) | L | | | | | |  Johnson (GBR) | 0 |
|  George Jessup (GBR) | KO1 | | | | |  Spiller (GBR) | 2 |
|  Frederick Osborne (GBR) | L | | |  Jessup (GBR) | L | | | |
|  Patrick Fee (GBR) | 0 | | |  Spiller (GBR) | KO2 |
|  Frederick Spiller (GBR) | 2 | | | |  Spiller (GBR) | 0 |
|  Matt Wells (GBR) | 2 (4th) | | | | | |  Grace (GBR) | 2 |
|  Waldemar Holberg (DEN) | 1 | | |  Wells (GBR) | 0 | | | |
|  Frederick Grace (GBR) | 2 | | |  Grace (GBR) | 2 |
|  Ernie Fearman (GBR) | 0 | | | | | |  Grace (GBR) | \- |
| | | | | | Bye | \- |

Did not start: G. Blake of Australasia; R. Eustache and E. Manzone of France

### Round of 16

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Wells and Holberg split the judges over the course of the first three rounds. The referee declared a fourth round, which Wells won in a contest which involved more grappling than punching. Bouvier was knocked down several times by Holmes before the referee stopped the contest. Jessup dominated his match, with Osborne not lasting past the first round. Grace, Spiller, and Johnson each won by decisions varying in closeness.

### Quarterfinals

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Spiller had the easiest time of it in the round, nearly eliminating Jessup in the first. The second round saw Jessup counted out. Grace and Wells fought a defensive bout, without either receiving much punishment. Johnson won a tight bout with Holmes by referee's decision.

### Semifinals

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Grace took a bye in the semifinals and Spiller's easy win made the round an uneventful one.

### Final

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Each boxer went to the mat in the second, but Grace piled on more hits than did Spiller to win the bout.

## Standings

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Rank | Boxer | Nation

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| Frederick Grace |  Great Britain
| Frederick Spiller |  Great Britain
| Harry Johnson |  Great Britain
4 | Harry Holmes |  Great Britain
George Jessup |  Great Britain
Matt Wells |  Great Britain
7 | André Bouvier |  France
Edward Fearman |  Great Britain
Patrick Fee |  Great Britain
Hemming Hansen |  Denmark
Waldemar Holberg |  Denmark
Frederick Osborne |  Great Britain

## References

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1. ^ "Boxing at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's Lightweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
2. ^ Official Report, p. 33.
3. ^ Official Report, pp. 418–19.

## Sources

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* Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908).
* De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Boxing 1908". Accessed 8 April 2006. Available electronically at [1] Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.

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Olympic boxing champions – men's lightweight

1904: 125–135 lb (56.7–61.2 kg) · 1908: 126–140 lb (57.2–63.5 kg) · 1920–1936: 126–135 lb (57.2–61.2 kg) · 1948: 58–62 kg · 1952–2008: 57–60 kg · 2012: 56–60 kg · 2016: 57–60 kg · 2020–2024: 58–63 kg · 2024–: 58–63.5 kg

* 1904:  Harry Spanjer (USA)
* 1908:  Frederick Grace (GBR)
* 1920:  Samuel Mosberg (USA)
* 1924:  Hans Jacob Nielsen (DEN)
* 1928:  Carlo Orlandi (ITA)
* 1932:  Lawrence Stevens (RSA)
* 1936:  Imre Harangi (HUN)
* 1948:  Gerald Dreyer (RSA)
* 1952:  Aureliano Bolognesi (ITA)
* 1956:  Dick McTaggart (GBR)
* 1960:  Kazimierz Paździor (POL)
* 1964:  Józef Grudzień (POL)
* 1968:  Ronnie Harris (USA)
* 1972:  Jan Szczepański (POL)
* 1976:  Howard Davis (USA)
* 1980:  Ángel Herrera (CUB)
* 1984:  Pernell Whitaker (USA)
* 1988:  Andreas Zülow (GDR)
* 1992:  Oscar De La Hoya (USA)
* 1996:  Hocine Soltani (ALG)
* 2000:  Mario Kindelán (CUB)
* 2004:  Mario Kindelán (CUB)
* 2008:  Aleksei Tishchenko (RUS)
* 2012:  Vasiliy Lomachenko (UKR)
* 2016:  Robson Conceição (BRA)
* 2020:  Andy Cruz (CUB)
* 2024:  Erislandy Álvarez (CUB)

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