Winner's medal issued for boxing at the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics. Bronze, 60 mm, 110 gm, originally designed by Giuseppe Cassioli. The front is inscribed, "XIX Olimpiada Mexico 1968," and features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse depicts a victorious athlete with palm branch being carried by several jubilant athletes. A small plaque attached to the top of the medal bears a pictogram of a boxing glove, with the reverse unmarked, and the plaque bearing the original yellow ribbon, which is separated at seam; Mexico winner’s medals with their original pictogram plaque are quite uncommon, with this particularly attractive ‘boxing glove’ example in superb condition.
There were a total of 11 boxing events at the Mexico City Games that were divided by weight classes ranging from light flyweight to heavyweight. Of the 22 bronze medals awarded, the United States earned the most with four, while Mexico, Poland, and Bulgaria each earned two, with the Americans topping the overall medal table with seven. Boxing is revered in Mexico as a major sport nearly on par with that of soccer. The nation ranks second worldwide between countries with the most boxing world champions and is the second country to have world champions accredited in all of the current boxing divisions. An extremely attractive medal that represents one of the oldest Olympic sports and the first Olympiad to be staged in Latin America.
