The men's super heavyweight event was part of the boxing programme at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. The weight class allowed boxers of more than 91 kilograms to compete. The competition was held from 22 September to 2 October 1988. 17 boxers from 17 nations competed. Future world heavyweight champion 23-year-old

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

of Canada defeated 21-year-old

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heavyw ...

of the US in a controversial final.

Background

The super heavyweight event of the 1988 Olympics was weakened by the absence of a Cuban boxer.

Teófilo Stevenson Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honored with the Olympic Order (1987). Stevenson is one of only three boxers to w ...

, a veteran three-time Olympic champion whose first Olympics were back in 1972, did not retire anticipating these Olympics. He announced his retirement shortly after the Cuban government decided to boycott the Games. He was 36 years of age in 1988. In contrast, future finalists Lewis and Bowe were rather young, 23 and 21 years old respectively. Possible Cuban alternate

Jorge Luis González Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

, 24, had defeated both Bowe and Lewis at the 1987 Pan American Games. It was predicted that the gold medal would be contested between the North Americans Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe and Europeans Ulli Kaden and Alex Miroshnichenko.

Medalists

Results

The following boxers took part in the event:

First round

Andreas Schnieders Andreas Schnieders (22 December 1966 – 6 October 2022) was a German boxer. He competed in the men's super heavyweight event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. After his career ended in 1994 he worked as a security guard at the Emsland Nuclear Pow ...

(FRG) def. Tshibalabala Kadima (ZAI), RSC-2

Second round

Aleksandr Miroshnichenko Aleksandr Viktorovich "Alex" Miroshnichenko (, russian: Александр Викторович Мирошниченко; 26 April 1964 – 19 May 2003) was an ethnic Russian Kazakhstani professional boxer. As an amateur he represented the Sovie ...

(URS) def. Ali Al-Baluchi (KUW), 5:0 * Kim Yoo-Hyun (KOR) def. Mohamed Hammad (SUD), AB-1 * Peter Hrivnák (TCH) def.

Petar Stoimenov Petar Stoimenov (born 8 April 1960) is a Bulgarian boxer. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...

(BUL), RSC-2 *

(USA) def.

Biko Botowamungu Ikomoniya "Biko" Botowamungu (born 22 January 1957) is a former boxer from Austria. Born in Stanleyville, Belgian Congo, he competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea in the super-heavyweight (+ 91 kg) division where he was def ...

(AUT), KO-2 *

(CAN) def.

Chris Odera Crispine "Chris" Odera (12 December 1963 – 27 November 2012) was a boxer from Kenya, who is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's super-heavyweight division (+ 91 kg) at the 1987 All-Africa Games in Nairobi, Kenya. He rep ...

(KEN), RSC-2 *

Ulli Kaden Ulrich Kaden (born 9 March 1959 in Munich) is a former East German amateur boxer, best known for winning the European title 1987 and 1989 at super heavyweight. Career Kaden was 1980 to 1988 nine times champion of East Germany. In 1981 he lost i ...

(GDR) def.

Aziz Salihu Aziz Salihu (born 1 May 1954 in Pristina, Kosovo) is one of the best retired Super heavyweight boxer of Kosovar Albanian descent. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and won the bronze me ...

(YUG), 5:0 *

Janusz Zarenkiewicz Janusz Zarenkiewicz (born August 3, 1959) is a Polish former amateur boxer.

(POL) def.

Harold Arroyo Harold Arroyo (born February 18, 1961) is a retired boxer from Puerto Rico. He won the silver medal in the Men's Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg) division at the 1991 Pan American Games. Arroyo also represented his native country at the 1988 Sum ...

(PUR), 5:0 *

(FRG) def. Ubola Ovvigbo (NGA), 5:0

Quarterfinals

(URS) def. Kim Yoo-Hyun (KOR), 5:0 *

(USA) def. Peter Hrivnák (TCH), RSC-1 *

(CAN) def.

(GDR), RSC-1 *

Janusz Zarenkiewicz Janusz Zarenkiewicz (born August 3, 1959) is a Polish former amateur boxer.

(POL) def.

(FRG), 3:2

Semifinals

(USA) def.

(URS), 5:0 *

(CAN) def.

Janusz Zarenkiewicz Janusz Zarenkiewicz (born August 3, 1959) is a Polish former amateur boxer.

(POL), walk-over

Final

(CAN) def.

(USA), RSC-2 Bowe was the more effective fighter in the first round, landing 33 of 94 punches thrown (34%) while Lewis landed 14 of 67 (21%). In the first round the referee from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

gave Bowe two cautions for headbutts and deducted a point for a third headbutt. Commentator

Ferdie Pacheco Fernando Pacheco Jimenez, M.D. (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and cornerman for world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali as well as numerous other boxing champions. ...

disagreed with the deduction, saying they did not hit heads. In the second round, Lewis landed several hard punches. The referee gave Bowe two

standing eight count A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing judgment call made by a referee during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts to eight. During that time, the referee will determine if the boxer can ...

s and waved the fight off after the second one, even though Bowe seemed able to continue. Pacheco disagreed with the stoppage, calling it "very strange", but

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he ...

said Bowe took "a pounding."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxing At The 1988 Summer Olympics - Super Heavyweight

Super Heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...