The Olympic boxing tournament was held in the 10,000 capacity [Grand Olympic Auditorium], which also held both the [weightlifting] and [wrestling] competitions. A shortage of European competitors meant the numbers of boxers dropped to 85, from just 18 countries. Only four nations, Argentina, Germany, Italy and the United States had participants in every division. The tournament took place from the 9th to the 13th of August. All bouts now consisted of three three-minute rounds, a final round of four minutes duration having been fought in some previous Olympics. Other innovations were the placement of the referee inside the ring instead of at ringside and the use of green and red coloured belts to distinguish the fighters.

These are the results of the boxing competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Medals were awarded in eight weight classes. The competitions were held from August 9 to 13

The favourites in this class were [István Énekes] of Hungary, the European champion, [Werner Spannagel] of Germany, the exotically named Italian [Edelweiss Rodriguez] and the home favourite [Lou Salica]. Fate decreed that all four were placed in the same half of the draw. Énekes was knocked to the floor in his quarter-final bout with Rodriguez but did enough to ensure his place in the semi-finals whilst Salica outpointed the European championship bronze medal winner Spannagel.

Énekes, a railway conductor from Budapest defeated Salica in the last four, the decision being deeply unpopular amongst the spectators, earning him the right to face [Francisco Cabañas] of Mexico in the final. Cabañas, the surprise package of the division had been forced to borrow money from friends and family to finance his trip to California. The Mexican was outfought by the Hungarian in the final but at least had the satisfaction of being the first boxing medal winner from his country.

István Énekes won another European amateur crown in 1934 but sadly, his life was to end at his own hands before his 30th birthday whilst Werner Spannagel was a victim of World War II. In contrast, Lou Salica had a long and successful professional career, twice winning versions of the world bantamweight title.

The men's flyweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 112 pounds (50.8 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Twelve boxers from twelve nations competed

All three of the 1930 European Championship medallists were present in Los Angeles, [Ziglarski] of Germany, the Italian [Melis] and France’s [Paul Nicolas]. Along with home fighter [Joseph Lang] they were considered strong medal candidates.

Canadian [Horace "Lefty" Gwynne] was another who impressed in the year before the Games and was the possessor of a vicious left hook that gave him his nickname. In the last eight Gwynne defeated Melis with surprising ease, dumping him on the canvas in the second round thanks to a right hook and generally punching him around the ring. If anything, his victory over [José Luis Villanueva] of the Philippines in the semi-finals was even more decisive, although Villanueva at least had the satisfaction of staying on his feet throughout. Ziglarski of Germany came through the other half of the draw, the American Joseph Lang losing out in the semi-final.

The much anticipated final turned out to be a mismatch, Gwynne won the first round and in the second produced a left-right combination that floored the German for a two-count. By the end of the third round, there was no doubt who was the victor and the Canadian, who had emerged as a favourite with fans, was credited with an overwhelming points victory. The legendary writer Damon Runyan, who was present at ringside, remarked "Of all the Olympic champions, I like this kid Gwynne the best".

Gwynne’s English born father had returned to his native country to fight in World War I and it was there that Horace began boxing, fighting exhibitions with his brother to entertain British army troops when they were just four and six respectively. Turning professional after the Games, he had 40 pro fights and became Canadian bantamweight champion before the lack of big money fights for fighters in the lighter weights forced him into retirement. He later became a jockey's agent where he earned himself another nickname, "10% Gwynne"; from the share he demanded from his clients earnings.

The men's bantamweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 119 pounds (54.0 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Ten boxers from ten nations competed

[Carmelo Robledo] was a teenage office clerk from Argentina who had reached the quarter-finals in Amsterdam. In Los Angeles he used his physical strength to win three straight decisions and take the Olympic title. The final had started quietly but [Scheinklofer] of Germany increased the tempo in the second round and was reported as "letting his fists fly". The German tired in the final three minutes but his supporters still believed he had done enough to claim victory.

The American entrant [Johnny Hines] went out to [Carlsson] of Sweden in the quarter-finals, hampered by cuts above both eyes he had received in his first round fight.

The men's featherweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the third-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 126 pounds (57.2 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Ten boxers from ten nations competed

The favourite for this event was considered to be [Nat Bor] of Massachusetts, the reigning United States amateur champion, although [Bianchini] of Italy was the 1930 European champion and both [Mizler] of Great Britain and the South African [Laurie Stevens] had won titles at the inaugural British Empire Games, albeit in lower weight divisions. Mizler had the misfortune to be drawn against Bor in his first bout and the home crowd cheered the American on to victory. Another first round loser was the Japanese fighter [Otsu Shuko], although born in Japan; Shuko was an ethnic Korean, the first to compete in Olympic boxing, and known in his mother language as Hwang Eul-Su.

Bor was not however destined to be Olympic champion; his performance in the semi-final against the tall Swede [Thure Ahlqvist] was described as sluggish and disappointing, Ahlqvist using his height and reach advantage to keep his opponent at bay whilst occasionally landing stiff right hands to the jaw of the American. The other semi saw the demise of the Italian Bianchini, conclusively defeated on points by Stevens of South Africa. Ahlqvist could not repeat his semi-final performance in the gold medal bout and Stevens became the first of two South African boxers to win gold medals in the Olympic Auditorium.

As a professional Stevens’ career suffered from the outbreak of the Second World War. He had been South African lightweight and welterweight champion and with a victory over the legendary Englishman, Jack "Kid" Berg, become the lightweight champion of the British Empire. Any hopes he had of fighting for the world title never came true and he retired in 1945 after a knockout defeat. Nat Bor won 47 of his first 48 professional fights but his career fizzled out and he would never fight for a title belt, Mauro Bianchini would go on to be Italian national welterweight champion and Harry Mizler would also go on to be a national champion as a pro.

The men's lightweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the fourth-lightest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Thirteen boxers from 13 nations competed

Sixteen boxers, the most in any weight division at the 1932 Olympic Games, competed in the welterweight division. [Bruno Ahlberg] of Finland impressed in the early rounds, earning a standing ovation from the crowd for the performance against the Italian [Fabbroni]. In contrast the USA’s [Eddie Flynn] had a difficult time in his quarter-final, he had knocked [Dick Barton] to the canvas early in the fight but the South African recovered and had a barnstorming final round. Flynn’s early advantage proved just enough to see him through. Another quarter-final saw the defeat of one of the title favourites, the Mexican [Al Romero]. Romero had [McCleave] of Britain on the canvas on no less than five occasions but the last one was the result of a low blow and having already been given a warning, he was disqualified. His protests came to nothing. No less than an hour later, he had signed a professional contract and made his debut in the same ring six weeks later.

The semi-final round saw Flynn box his way past McCleave while Ahlberg went down to defeat against [Erich Campe], a German policeman. The final was a close one but Flynn was awarded the decision by 60-59 to the delight of the American crowd.

Eddie Flynn, originally from New Orleans, was a dentistry student at Loyola University who supplemented his income by working as a janitor for $60 a month. He was reputed to have been undefeated in 144 bouts in the amateur code. Picked out by "Time" magazine as the outstanding fighter at the 1932 AAU finals, he insisted he had no intention of turning professional; four months after his Olympic triumph, he turned professional. He lost seven of his thirty pro bouts and never fought for a title although the money earned helped him set up a dental practice.

The men's welterweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the fourth-heaviest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 147 pounds (66.7 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Sixteen boxers from 16 nations competed

The German [Bernlöhr] was considered his country’s strongest hope but fell to [Michelot] of France in their quarter-final bout that was described as a "severe injustice" by German sources.

19-year old Cleveland native [Carmen Barth]’s bout with the Mexican middleweight [Manuel Cruz] ended with Cruz having the unfortunate distinction of being the only victim of a clean knockout at the LA Olympics. Whilst reports agree that the American was untroubled in winning his first two bouts needed to take the gold medal, reports of the final vary. American newspapers described him as "drumming a victory tattoo on the body of his Argentine opponent". Other reports claim that, though boxing wildly, [Amado Azar] was still better than his more precise American opponent. The Argentinean was so upset when he wasn’t given the fight that he immediately left the ring and did not stay for the customary picture with the winner.

Roger Michelot of France lost in the last eight but returned four years later to take light-heavyweight gold in Berlin. Tragically, New Zealand representative [Bert Lowe] was long dead by then, a victim of a brain injury suffered in only his fourth professional fight.

The men's middleweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the third-heaviest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms). The competition was held from Tuesday, August 9, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Ten boxers from ten nations competed

Only eight boxers contested the light-heavyweight class. [Jim Murphy] of Ireland sprung a surprise by defeating home hope [Johnny Miler] but was himself outpointed in the semi-final by the 24-year Italian [Gino Rossi]. The pairing of the South African [Dave Carstens] and the Dane [Peter Jørgensen] in the last four was reported as being the best of the Games, the hard-punching Carstens edging his way to victory.

Carstens, who worked as a diamond cutter in his native country, slugged his way to victory in the final. In another close fight, the South African earned the judges vote over Italy’s Gino Rossi. Both finalists turned professional, albeit with little success.

The men's light heavyweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-heaviest contested, and allowed boxers of up to 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms). The competition was held from Wednesday, August 10, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Eight boxers from eight nations competed.

With only six participants, this was the least populated division in Los Angeles. Ironically, the largest man to set foot in the Olympic ring may well have been one of the referees, Captain Mabbutt of the USA. The crowd was often heard shouting "Sit down!" when he was obstructing their view of the fighting.

[Alberto Lovell] of Argentina, considered by his countrymen as a "new Jack Dempsey", defeated future European amateur champion [Gunnar Bärlund] of Finland in the opening round then demolished the unfortunate Canadian [George Maughan] to reach the final. The California native, [Fred Feary], lost to Italian southpaw [Luigi Rovati] in the other semi-final. The Argentine favoured power over finesse but his performance was enough to edge his way to a points victory and take the gold medal and become the first black Olympic heavyweight champion.

If Lovell expected a hero’s welcome back in Buenos Aires, it certainly did not happen. An argument over the standard of food provided on the boat journey home led to Lovell punching one of the ship’s officers, this led to a near-riot involving other members of the Argentine Olympic squad. Singled out as a ringleader, Lovell was kept in custody for the rest of the voyage. Rather than being greeted with a ticker-tape reception he was instead escorted to the nearest police station.

Although Lovell was knocked out in his professional début, he went on to have a long and successful career. Holder of the Argentine heavyweight title for fifteen years, he was also South American champion and only lost eight of his eighty-eight fights. His second knockout defeat came in his last fight, at the hands of the great American stylist, Archie Moore. Lovell came from a family of heavyweight boxers, his brother [Guillermo] was the silver medallist four years later in Berlin. His son [Santiago] boxed in Tokyo and went on to box professionally with some success and another son, Pedro, was also a professional fighter and played the part of "Spider Rico" in the first and last "Rocky" movies.

The men's heavyweight event was part of the boxing programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the heaviest contested, and allowed boxers over 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms). The competition was held from Wednesday, August 10, 1932 to Saturday, August 13, 1932. Six boxers from six nations competed