Evolution: Boxing

The first punch: Although boxing medals were awarded at the 1904 Games in St Louis, few historians include these titles in the official records. The events may have been open to all nations, but the contests began several weeks after the last Europeans had left St Louis. Only American boxers took part and the rules weren't enforced strictly. Miles Burke took silver in the flyweight division despite being four pounds overweight. Another American, George Finnegan, fought in two divisions.

The first real punch: Four years later in London, boxing took on a more international dimension but the British dominated on home soil. More divisions were added over the following years and from the time of the 1920 Games in Antwerp, many Olympic champions were making a successful crossover to professionalism. Frank Di Gennara, America's flyweight champion in Antwerp, won the World Flyweight title seven years later, fighting as Frankie Genaro.

Adding more weight: There are now 12 weight divisions contested at the Olympics - from light flyweight to super heavyweight. Several measures have been taken to protect the safety of the fighters, including the wearing of headgear. A boxer who is knocked down is given a count of eight before he can resume, and three eight counts in a round, or four in a fight, means automatic defeat. Computerised scoring was introduced in 1992. Three of the five ringside judges must press their console within one second of the boxer connecting with a punch.

Money doesn't talk: Boxing is one of the last Olympic sports in which professionals cannot compete. That rule, however, greatly favours the fighters from Cuba, one of the strongest nations with a communist government that doesn't allow professional boxing. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, for example, they won five gold medals.

The great contenders: Muhammad Ali travelled to the 1960 Games in Rome as an 18-year-old contender from Louisville, Kentucky. By the time he beat Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski for the light heavyweight gold, he was being billed as a potential world heavyweight champion.

Four years later, he defeated Sonny Liston to do just that. But since Rome, he had encountered a series of racist incidents back in Kentucky and after being refused service in a restaurant one night, he threw his much-coveted gold medal into the Ohio river. But in Atlanta four years ago, the International Olympic Committee replaced Ali's gold medal - the first time such an honour had been granted.

Other big earners: Among the other household names with Olympic origins were the likes of George Foreman (super heavyweight gold in Mexico City, 1968), Ray Leonard (light welterweight gold in Montreal, 1976; he later added "Sugar" to his name), Leon Spinks (light heavyweight gold in Montreal) and Oscar De La Hoya (lightweight gold in Barcelona, 1992).

Wearing of the green: The last time the Olympics were held in Australia - Melbourne in 1956 - four Irishmen came home with medals; welterweight Fred Teidt (silver), lightweight Anthony Byrne, bantamweight Freddie Gilroy and flyweight John Cauldwell (all bronze). That feat was rivalled by the achievements in Barcelona in 1992, when Wayne McCullough took silver at bantamweight and Michael Carruth won Ireland's first boxing gold at welterweight. Unfortunately, Ireland's boxing fortunes have since waned and Michael Roche will be the sole fighter in Sydney.

Agree to disagree: Since 1924, Olympic boxing contests have been plagued by riots and demonstrations. In the Amsterdam Games of 1928, the Americans stormed the judges' tables after their fighter, John Daley, was ruled to have been beaten by South Africa's Harry Isaacs. Daley was eventually declared the victor.

But nothing could match the riot of 1988 when New Zealand referee Keith Walker was attacked by both the Korean boxing officials and the stadium security guards. Korean bantamweight Byun Jong-Li had been deducted two crucial points for headbutting and eventually lost to Bulgaria's Alexander Hristov. After the chaotic scenes that followed, Byun sat in the middle of the ring for a 67-minute protest. That beat the previous sit-in record of his countryman, Choh Dong-kih in 1964.