Like all Olympic boxing events, the competition was a straight single-elimination tournament.[4] The competition consisted of 28 boxers who had qualified through various qualifying tournaments held in 2011 and 2012. The competition began with a preliminary round on 28 July, where the number of competitors was reduced to 16, and concluded with a final on 11 August.[5] As there were less than 32 boxers in the competition a number of boxers received a bye for the preliminary round. Both semi-final losers were awarded bronze medals, so no boxers competed again after their first loss.
All bouts comprised three three-minute periods where the boxers received points for every successful punch they could land on their opponent's head or upper body.[4] The boxer with the most points at the end of the bouts won. If a boxer was knocked to the ground and cannot get up before the referee counts to 10 then the bout is over and the opponent wins.