Moscow 1980 was another red letter event in the annals of Irish boxing history, and its the games we revisit today, with 11 days to go to the first bell at Paris 2024.
Before Hugh Russell’s trip behind the former Iron Curtain, his fellow Belfast fighter, the great Jim McCourt, claimed lightweight bronze at Tokyo 1964, and Russell, who boxed out of the Holy Family BC, bridged that 16-year gap at the Games officially known as the XXII Olympiad.
The Ulster flyweight’s path to the semi-finals, a finish that was enough to secure at least bronze, saw him dispatch Samir Khiniab of Iraq and Emmanuel Mlundwa of Tanzania in the preliminaries and last-16, both wins by way of unanimous (5-0) decisions. That left Ryon-sik Yo standing between the Irish champion and at least bronze. It proved to be a tough one, the Holy Family man earning a split decision (3-2) over the North Korean to ensure that an Irish athlete would occupy one of the podiums in the Russian capital. Russell lost out at the semi-final stage to Bulgaria’s eventual gold medalist, Petar Lessov.
“I know you hear a lot of glossy stuff about it (the Olympics) but it definitely is the biggest show on Earth, and, as I say to any of the kids that go to the Olympics, it changes your life,” said Russell, a bronze medal winner at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
“I always remember going back down the next day to get my medal, and this girl, obviously Russian, behind a counter, and a wee chat that you gave her, and she flicked through all these medals, and she gave you your medal, and you took it out, and there was your medal. Your name was on it.” The medal he received was the first Olympic medal he’d ever touched. “You got to the Olympics and the first fight you have at the Olympics is probably the most important. You’re saying to yourself: ‘This is the most important fight of my life’, which it is at that stage,” he said. “And then if you’re fortunate enough to win it, the next time you’re getting in, you’re saying: ‘No, that wasn’t. This is the most important.’
Meanwhile, Barry McGuigan KO’d Issack Mabushi of Tanzania in his opener, but was then beaten by Winfred Kabunda of Zambia – who was defeated by the eventual gold medallist (Rudi Fink, East Germany) in the next round.
McGuigan broke his hand in the lead up to the Games and admitted that the injury had not healed up fully and that he was having difficulty with his timing and accuracy in Moscow.
The Kabunda reversal was only his third loss in the senior ranks. Five years after his trip to the 1980 Games, McGuigan claimed the WBA World featherweight title on a glorious night at Loftus Road in London.
Russell’s Irish team-mate Gerry Hawkins received a bye from the first phase in Moscow but then lost out in his first fight to Bulgaria’s Ismail Moustafov, who would go on to win bronze in the light-flyweight class.
Two-time European medallist, Phil Sutcliffe, who also had to contend with hand injuries and fight through the pain barrier in Moscow, also lost his first bout, the Dubliner losing to Mexican bantamweight Daniel Zaragoza. Zaragoza, nicknamed “Mouse”, didn’t medal at the 1980 Olympics, but he certainly made an impression in the pro ranks, winning three WBC World bantamweight and super-bantamweight titles between 1985/92.
Meanwhile, Sean Doyle, trading leather in the lightweight class at the Olympski Sports Complex Stadium, KO’d Nelson Trujillo Trujillo of Venezuela but was then beaten by Romania’s Florian Livadaru, while Martin Brereton went out to a eventual bronze medallist, Jose Aguilar of Cuba. PJ Davitt, the second Phoenix BC boxer to represent Ireland at an Olympiad, was beaten by Ionel Budusan of Romania.
Cuba won an astonishing 10 medals, six of which were gold, from the eleven weight categories to command top spot in the medals table in Moscow. The USSR, despite having home advantage, finished second. Ireland, thanks to Russell, finishes in joint 12th spot in the medals table with Czechslovakia, Great Britain, Guyana and North Korea.
1980 Olympics Moscow
Light-flyweight: Gerry Hawkins (Holy Trinity)
Lost to eventual bronze medallist Ismail Moustafov (Bulgaria) 0-5
Flyweight: Hugh Russell (Holy Family) – Bronze
Beat Samir Khiniab (Iraq) 5-0
Beat Emmanuel Mlundwa (Tanzania) 5-0
Beat Ryon-sik Yo (North Korea) 3-2
Lost to eventual gold medalist Petar Lessov (Bulgaria) 0-5
Bantamweight: Phil Sutcliffe (Drimnagh)
Lost to Daniel Zaragoza (Mexico) 0-5
Featherweight: Barry McGuigan (Smithboro)
Beat Issack Mabushi (Tanzania) TKO3
Lost to Winfred Kabunda (Zambia) 1-4
Lightweight : Sean Doyle (St Joseph’s)
Beat Nelson Trujillo (Venezuela) TKO2
Lost to Florian Livadaru (Romania) TKO2
Light-welterweight: Martin Brereton (Edenderry)
Lost to Jose Aguilar (Cuba) TKO1
Welterweight: PJ Davitt (Phoenix)
Lost to Ionel Budusan (Romania) 0-5
Check out Moscow’s Opening Ceremony
Ireland’s David Wilkins and James Wilkinson, competing in the Flying Dutchman Class (sailing), won silver in Moscow.
Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games, the smallest number since 1956.
The American Boycott
The Olympics were disrupted by another boycott, this one led by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, part of a package of actions to protest the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Carter attempted to gain support from other nations.
Some governments, like those of Great Britain and Australia, supported the boycott, but allowed the athletes to decide for themselves whether to go to Moscow. No such freedom of choice was allowed U.S. athletes, as Carter threatened to revoke the passport of any athlete who tried to travel to the USSR. In the end, 67 nations did not participate, with 45 to 50 of these nations likely being absent because of the U.S.-led boycott. Eighty nations did participate—the lowest number since 1956.
Olympic Firsts
Aleksandr Dityatin of Russia earned medals in every men’s gymnastics event to become the first athlete to win eight medals at one Olympic Games. Super-heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba became the first boxer to win the same division three times, and Gerd Wessig of East Germany became the first male high jumper to break the world record at the Olympic Games.