The defending champion Julio César La Cruz lost to the eventual silver medalist Loren Alfonso, the 2020 silver medalist Muslim Gadzhimagomedov did not participate because IOC barred the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) from participation due to war in Ukraine. One of the 2020 bronze medalists, David Nyika, turned professional and did not participate, and another one, Abner Teixeira, moved to a different wight category.
Like all Olympic boxing events, the competition was a straight single-elimination tournament. The competition began with a preliminary round, where the number of competitors was reduced to 16, and concluded with a final. As there were fewer than 32 boxers in the competition, a number of boxers received a bye through the preliminary round. Both semi-final losers were awarded bronze medals.
Bouts consisted of three three-minute rounds with a one-minute break between rounds. A boxer may win by knockout or by points. Scoring was on the "10-point-must," with five judges scoring each round. Judges consider "number of blows landed on the target areas, domination of the bout, technique and tactical superiority and competitiveness." Each judge determined a winner for each round, who received 10 points for the round, and assigned the round's loser a number of points between seven and nine based on performance. The judge's scores for each round were added to give a total score for that judge. The boxer with the higher score from a majority of the judges was the winner.[3]
1904–1908: +158 lb (71.7 kg) · 1920–1936: +175 lb (79.4 kg) · 1948: +80 kg · 1952–1980: +81 kg · 1984–2012: 81–91 kg · 2016–2020: 82–91 kg · 2024–: 81–92 kg
