Featherweight (≤57 kilograms), Men

After the requisite seven withdrawals in round two by African fighters, the final came down to two young, little-known boxers – Cuba’s Ángel Herrera and Poland’s Richard Nowakowski. Nowadowski had had an easy time in the early rounds, winning two unanimous decisions, with one win by knockout, and one by TKO. Herrera had only one close bout, defeating American Davey Armstrong by a 3-2 decision in the quarter-finals. Armstrong was the American choice for this class after 1974 World Champion Howard Davis, Jr. moved up to the lightweights. The final was not close, as Herrera dominated and knocked out Nowakowski in the second round. Herrera and Nowakowski, however, would soon become among the best amateur boxers over the next decade.

Herrera returned to the Olympics in 1980 and won another gold medal, this time as a lightweight. He also won World titles in 1978 (featherweight) and 1982 (lightweight), finishing his international career with a silver medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. Nowakowski won the 1977 and 1981 European titles in this class, and added a bronze medal at the 1982 World Championships.