1908 Summer Olympics / Boxing

Boxing at the IV Olympic Games
information
venue	London
Competition venue	Northampton Institute
Nations	4th
Athletes	42 (42 men)
date	October 27, 1908
decisions	5
← St. Louis 1904 Antwerp 1920 →

Five boxing competitions were held at the IV Olympic Games in London in 1908 . The venue was the sports hall of the Northampton Institute (later City University ). More than three quarters of the participants were from the UK. The Amateur Boxing Association of England was responsible for the organization .

There were three rounds in each fight; the first two rounds lasted three minutes, the third round four minutes. Two judges made the assessment: In the first two rounds they gave five points for the better boxer, in the third round seven points. The other boxer's score was calculated from the degree of inferiority. If the judges could not agree on a winner, the referee had the option to choose a winner himself or to arrange a fourth round.

Balance sheet

Medal table

space	country				total
1	Great Britain	5	4th	5	14th
2	Australasia	-	1	-	1

Medalist

competitor	gold	silver	bronze
Bantamweight	Henry Thomas	John Condon	William Webb
Featherweight	Richard Gunn	Charles Morris	Hugh Roddin
lightweight	Frederick Grace	Frederick Spiller	Harry Johnson
medium weight	Johnny Douglas	Reginald Baker	William Philo
Heavyweight	Albert Oldman	Sydney Evans	Frederick Parks

Results

Bantam weight (up to 52.62 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Henry Thomas
2	GBR	John Condon
3	GBR	William Webb
4th	FRA	Pierre Mazior
	GBR	Frank McGurk
	GBR	Henry Perry

Date: October 27, 1908
6 participants from 2 countries

Feather weight (up to 57.15 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Richard Gunn
2	GBR	Charles Morris
3	GBR	Hugh Roddin
4th	GBR	Thomas Ringer
5	GBR	Edward Adams
	FRA	Louis Constant
	GBR	John Lloyd
	FRA	Etienne Poillot

Date: October 27, 1908
8 participants from 2 countries

Lightweight (up to 63.50 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Frederick Grace
2	GBR	Frederick Spiller
3	GBR	Harry Johnson
4th	GBR	Harold Holmes
	GBR	George Jessup
	GBR	Matt Wells
7th	FRA	André Bouvier
	GBR	Edward Fearman
	GBR	Patrick Fee
	THE	Hemming Hansen
	THE	Waldemar Holberg
	GBR	Frank Osborne

Date: October 27, 1908
12 participants from 3 countries

Middle weight (up to 71.67 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Johnny Douglas
2	ANZ	Reginald Baker
3	GBR	William Philo
4th	GBR	Ruben Warnes
5	GBR	William Childs
6th	FRA	Gaston Aspa
	GBR	William Dees
	FRA	René Doudelle
	FRA	Charles Morard
	GBR	Arthur Murdoch

Date: October 27, 1908
10 participants from 3 countries

The final match was so close that it was later often and persistently claimed that the referees could not have agreed on a winner and Douglas' father, as the main referee, decided the fight in favor of his son. In reality, in his role as association president, he was only responsible for awarding the medals. After Baker claimed in an interview in 1952 that the rumor was true, it was also presented as a fact in many reputable publications. It was only in 2004 that it could be proven beyond doubt that Douglas' victory had complied with the rules.

Heavyweight (over 71.67 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Albert Oldman
2	GBR	Sydney Evans
3	GBR	Frederick Parks
4th	GBR	Harold Brewer
	GBR	Albert Ireton
	GBR	Ian Myrams

Date: October 27, 1908
All six participants were British.

Web links

• Boxing at the Olympic Games 1908 in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1908 (PDF, 12.4 MB)