Boxing vs wrestling: Which is tougher to win Olympic gold in? Redditors debate

Winning an Olympic gold medal is a dream for athletes across all sports. The technicalities of sports in determining a champion are often based on the points that each athlete has garnered throughout the tournament. For some, the fastest time also determines the decision. However, in combat sports that primarily require an athlete’s physical strength, technical skill, and mental toughness, such as wrestling and boxing, determining a winner under fair and square circumstances can be a matter of debate.

With this in mind, a curious Redditor posted a question: “What is harder to get an Olympic gold medal in, wrestling or boxing?” This gained attention from other Redditors who shared their thoughts and opinions.

One shared: “I feel less confident that the best boxer won a medal than the best wrestler. Boxing judges are so often wrong.”

Another replied to this comment and said: “Boxing judges aren’t often wrong, they’re often bought LOL! It’s so bad that the sport is borderline of being kicked out of the Olympic programme… I’d wager winning a medal in boxing is the hardest thing if you’re not the one paying them because your chances, even if you’re good, are supremely low against corruption.” 

A few Redditors opined that boxing is harder due to its rules, with one noting: “Comparing by the rules, it may be harder to grab a gold in boxing because your performance is down to five judges’ decision instead of a clear-cut point system.”

“Well, boxing is often not based on merit, so I guess it could be harder or easier depending on your nationality/wallet,” said another Redditor about boxing. 

Some Redditors observed that wrestling is a tough sport, thus making it harder to win: “I feel like there are way more wrestlers than boxers. Especially from the ground up. And wrestling is one of the hardest sports to be good at (though I am sure boxing is equally as hard). However, I think wrestling has more of a talent pool to draw from and weeding out, making it harder.” 

“Wrestling has the best in the world at the sport, and the scoring is far more transparent. So I’ll go with wrestling,” one more Redditor remarked. 

When the schedule for the upcoming Olympics was announced in 2022, boxing was initially left out of the tournament. However, the IOC provisionally recognised World Boxing as the sport’s international governing body, and during the current session in Greece, they voted to reinstate boxing for the 2028 Games. Read more here.