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There have been two major changes to heavyweight boxing since its inclusion at the Olympics. Beginning with the 1952 games, the boxer placing fourth is awarded a bronze medal as well. It’s a hard move to justify, and since both men receive medals, this devalues the importance of the bronze medal fight. In 1984, the heavyweight division became the super heavyweight division (for all boxers above 200 pounds), and the heavyweight division was for all boxers above 178 but below 200 pounds.

For this feature I only concern myself with medalists in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. So you will not find such men as future heavyweight kings Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson, who won Olympic gold medals at light heavyweight and middleweight respectively. It is a bigger undertaking than I expected, forcing me to break this into a two part article because of the intriguing personalities that have inhabited this competition.

1904 – ST. LOUIS, USA

Gold: Samuel Berger (USA) – All three medals went to the USA. In fact, Americans won every boxing medal given out in 1908 (a feat nearly duplicated by England in four years time, but Australian Reginald Baker broke up their potential sweep). The Chicago product won the gold medal at age 19. He only had two pro fights, turning pro two years after winning Olympic gold. Berger fought a six round no contest against Hall of Famer Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, and lost via tenth round kayo to future heavyweight title challenger Al Kaufman. He did stay involved in boxing, managing heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries for a time before dying at the young age of 40.

Silver: Charles Mayer (USA) – No pro fights.

Bronze: William Michaels (USA) – No pro fights.

1908 – LONDON, ENGLAND

Gold: Albert Oldman (England) – The first Olympic gold medalist not to turn pro. The heavyweight division at this Olympics was the only one that did not feature any non-English boxers, as all six entrants were from England. Oldman, a London policeman, defeated Frederick Parks, who was favored based on his superior amateur pedigree. Oldman won both bouts via first round kayo.

Silver: Sydney Evans (England) – No pro fights.

Bronze: Frederick Parks (England) – A four time national amateur champion. No pro fights.

1912 – ANTWERP, BELGIUM

Gold: Ronald Rawson (England) – A two time national champ who defeated the American representative in the first round of the competition. Might have been the most intimidating boxer in the competition, scoring 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round stoppage wins. In fact, he knocked out every opponent in this tourney. In an undefeated amateur career, 28 bouts, only one man was able to last the distance with Rawson. Was awarded a medal for his courage in World War I. No pro fights.

Silver: Soren Peterson (Denmark) – A two time Olympian who turned into a less than stellar pro. As best we can tell he finished with a documented 8-7-1 pro record, and lost six of those seven fights via kayo. Only fought in Europe, and lost a European title shot to Belgian Pierre Charles in 1929. Probably waited too long to turn pro, fighting his first professional bout at age 30.

Bronze: Xavier Eluère (France) – Defeated American William Spengler for the Bronze, but never did much as a pro. Only fought sporadically in 1922 and 1923, eliminating himself from consideration for the 1924 Olympics.

1924 - PARIS, FRANCE

Gold: Otto Von Porat (Norway) - Never lived up to expectations after winning the 1924 Olympic gold. Had to overcome a furious second round comeback from his Danish opponent, after dominating the first round, and won the gold medal bout on the strength of the third round. Was Finland's' only summer Olympics champion up until 1980. Porat and Soren Petersen met in the pros as well, with Porat winning by fifth round kayo in Norway. From a wealthy family, Porat, nevertheless, turned pro with a lot of fanfare in 1926, but had a horrible New York City debut. In only his third pro fight, Von Porat was knocked out in two rounds by Martin Burke. His reputation was never restored, and he finished his career with a 37-9 record with five no decisions. Still, he drew good crowds, and was used on a lot of Midwest fight cards. Best win was a fifth round TKO of Battling Levinsky in 1929.

Silver: Soren Petersen (Denmark) – Finishes in second place for a second straight Olympics. See 1920 for bio.

Bronze: Alfredo Prozio (Argentina) – The first South American heavyweight to medal, who caused a stir by outpointing the French entrant in the first round of competition. Knocked American Ed Greathouse out of medal contention, before losing a fight to Otto Von Porat that relegated him to a bronze medal. Turned pro after his medal victory, and fought in Argentina and America without making any impact. Was knocked out in his Madison Square Garden debut by Knute Hansen of Denmark, and never defeated anyone of worth. Lost to Cuban Clemente Sanchez in a contest for the South American heavyweight championship in his only pro fight for a title. Alfredo and his brother went on to manage many good professional boxers from Argentina.

1928 - AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

Gold: Arturo Jurado (Argentina) – South America gets it right this time, using a boxer who lost in the first round of the 1924 Olympics at light heavyweight. Other than this, I am hard pressed to find any information about Jurado. He never turned pro, and did not compete in the 1932 Olympics. Defeated the home country’s Sam Olij in the first round, but I am not sure if it was via kayo or points. Judging from his picture alone, he had a sturdy upper body, and one review of his gold medal fight mentions his superiority in power and size. Won the gold medal fight via cut, slicing the left eye of his Swedish opponent. Never turned pro, but was a good all around athlete who became the captain of Argentina's national rugby team.

Silver: Nils Ramm (Sweden) – The European heavyweight champion in 1927, he was favored to take the gold medal at the Olympics along with German Hans Schönrath. A very good boxer who traded power for speed and accuracy. Defeated Schönrath in a tough first round draw, but could not deal with the bulkier Jurado in the final. Did his best work as a light heavyweight in the pros, compiling a respectable record of 17-4-1 following his lone Olympic appearance. Fought mostly out of Stockholm and Chicago.

Bronze: Michael Michaelsen (Denmark) – Another medal winner whose personal info has been lost to history, except that he was born in 1899 and died at the age of 70. He would have had to defeat two-time Olympic medalist (a silver and bronze in the two previous Olympics at light heavyweight) Sverre Sorsdal of Norway, but won the bronze medal via walk-over when Sorsdal could not compete because of injury. After a first round bye, Michaelsen beat Frenchman Geo Gardebois in the quarter finals, before losing to eventual gold medalist Jurado via points. Never turned pro.

1932 - LOS ANGELES, USA

Gold: Alberto Lovell (Argentina) – The second straight Argentine to win the Gold, and a physically imposing slugger whose punch led him to Argentine and South American championships in the pros. Only six men were entered into this competition, but Lovell showed class and power in wining the gold. Defeated Finland's Gunnar Barlund by first round kayo to open the competition, and brutally beat up Canadian George Maughan in the second round. Was called the new Jack Dempsey by his Argentine fans, but showed he could do more than brawl by defeating the Italian entrant on points in the final. His pro debut was a debacle, losing by seventh round kayo, but a cut aided points win over Maxie Rosenbloom 12 fights later showed Lovell had potential. After a loss to Gunnar Barlund - a good Finnish boxer who Lovell defeated in the first round at the Olympics - in Madison Square Garden, Lovell never fought in America again. He continued to box all around South America, winning one of three fights against future heavyweight title challenger Arutro Godoy, but never got within sniffing distance of champion Joe Louis. Came back in 1951, at age 39, and was kayoed in one round by Archie Moore in Buenos Aires. His son Santiago boxed in the 1964 Olympics, and his youngest son Pedro played the role of Spider Rico in the Rocky movie franchise after a good pro career.

Silver: Luigi Rovati (Italy) – The best I can tell, Rovati never won a fight as a pro, losing three of his contests and drawing in his pro debut. Just as surprisingly, he never fought as a pro in his native Italy, and was kayoed in three of his four pro fights. Defeated American Fred Feary in the semifinal, and gave everyone in the competition problems because of his southpaw stance. Lasted the distance against Lovell, and was the oldest heavyweight in the competition at 27.

Bronze: Fred Feary (USA) – Talk about an easy route to a medal. The home country favorite got a first round bye, and won the bronze without at fight when Canadian George Maughan was considered too damaged to fight after a kayo loss to Lovell. In his only Olympic appearance, Feary lost a decision to the Italian Rovati. Feary was a respectable pro, going 21-3-4, a crowd favorite in California in his three year career. Won an eight round fight over KO Christner, defeated and drew with fellow ticket seller Jack Roper to mark his best performances. Retired at age 23 after a first round kayo to the ordinary, but power punching, Hank Hankinson and became a police officer.

1936 - BERLIN, GERMANY

Gold: Herbert Runge (Germany) – Runge became the first homegrown heavyweight gold medalist since 1908, and there did not seem to be any Nazi home cooking involved. Runge was a skillful eight-time national champ who medaled at European championships before and after his Olympic triumph. Won his first fight via kayo, and his toughest win came over Englishman Vincent Sutart in the quarterfinals. Was awarded a walk-over win, in the semifinals when Hungary's Ferenc Nagy could not fight because of a broken hand suffered in a win over teenage Swedish sensation Olle Tandberg. Runge surprised many by knocking the more aggressive Lovell down in the second round of the finals, and nearly finishing him before the bell sounded. The knockdown swung the momentum, and Lovell fought passively from that point on. Turned pro after the second world war, at the advanced of age 33, and did not fare well in the paid ranks. Clearly a shot fighter, he lost 15 of 26 fights, as Runge's lack of punch ensured he would never even fight for a national
title.

Silver: Guillermo Lovell (Argentina) – Brother of previous Olympic Gold medalist Alberto Lovell, who impressed everyone in the early rounds with his offensive output. A second round knockout of Uruguayan Jose Feans in the quarterfinals propelled Lovell into a fight with hard-hitting Norwegian Erling Nilsen. It was a hotly awaited contest, since both men had won every fight by kayo. Most were disappointed by the sloppy affair that Lovell won on superior aggression. Rung proved to be too skilled, and Lovell might have been intimidated by the situation. Lovell also failed to follow up on the positive press from the Olympics, and did not turn pro until 1940. Fought once a year for the next three years, with all three of his fights ending by kayo. The last was a kayo loss to American import Roscoe Toles, followed by his retirement from the sport.

Bronze: Erling Nilsen (Norway) – The last good amateur heavyweight Norway ever produced until Steffen Tangstad came along in the late 1970's, Nilsen entered the competition in the midst of a Norwegian title run that would wind up at seven straight. Underperformed in this Olympics, and in the following years the European championship, where he came away with the bronze again. At 25, he was in his physical prime, and was tabbed to do more by the experts. Was put in a winnable bracket, knocking out Luxemburg's Erling Lilsen in the quarterfinals. However, in the semifinals Lovell matched his power, and Lilsen went into a shell after the first round. Never turned pro.

World War II prevented the 1940 Olympic Games (scheduled to be held in Tokyo, and then Helsinki, when opposition to Tokyo was voiced by international leaders), and marks my end to part one of this feature.

Our Olympic review returns with the London games of 1948.