Roy Jones Jr. received, more than 30 years later, the Olympic gold that he always claimed to have won at the Seoul Games but which was stolen from him by a controversial decision by the judges. His opponent in that fight, South Korea’s Park Si-hun, traveled to Pensacola, Florida, to personally deliver the medal. The event took place two years ago, but it has only come to light this week following a video posted on YouTube.
“I had the gold medal, but I wanted to give it back. It’s yours,” Si-hun said through his son, who acted as translator. “Wow, this is crazy!” Jones Jr. replied as he looked at the medal, speechless and with tears in his eyes.
On May 30, 2023, Jones Jr. went to his gym on the pretext that he was going to be interviewed. There, in the parking lot, he met Park. It was all part of the filming of a short film. “In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history. By the grace of God, a couple of years ago, the man who won that medal traveled from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling legitimately mine,” Roy Jones announced on social media.
All the analysts saw Roy Jones Jr. as the clear winner of that fight. The judges’ result was 3-2 in favor of Park Si-hun. The condition of the local fighter weighed on this decision. Over time, the judge who declared a draw and the two who gave Park the win were suspended for six months and then two of them for life, according to insidethegames.
The United States Olympic Committee requested an investigation in 1996 after documents belonging to East Germany’s Stasi secret police revealed that several judges received payments to vote for South Korean boxers. An International Olympic Committee investigation in 1997 concluded its investigation without being able to conclusively prove that the outcome of the fight between Park and Jones was rigged by the referees.
After the Seoul Games, Si-hun retired from boxing to become a physical education teacher. Jones Jr. turned professional the following year and, in 1993, won his first world title by defeating Bernard Hopkins in the IBF middleweight division. He went on to win 34 consecutive fights until 1997. He retired in 2023 with a record of 66 wins (47 KOs) and 10 losses (5 KOs).
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