Roy Jones Jr. got his Olympic gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Games on May 30, 2023. Park Si-hun, his rival from the controversial final, handed it over at Jones' gym in Pensacola, Florida.
The medal ceremony happened during the filming of a short film. Park gave Jones the gold medal and said, "I had the gold medal, but I wanted to give it back. It's yours." Jones responded with surprise, saying, "Wow, this is crazy!"
This event fixed a wrong that happened over 30 years ago. In the 1988 Olympic boxing final in Seoul, South Korea, judges gave a 3-2 decision to Park Si-hun. But most people watching thought Roy Jones Jr. had clearly won the fight.
The decision caused a big stir. One judge got suspended for 6 months, and two judges were banned for life. Later investigations tried to find out if the fight was rigged. In 1996, the United States Olympic Committee looked into it after some documents showed judges might have been paid to vote for South Korean boxers. The International Olympic Committee did their own investigation in 1997, but they couldn't prove the fight was fixed.
After the Olympics, Park Si-hun quit boxing and became a physical education teacher. Roy Jones Jr. turned pro in 1989 and had a great career. He won his first world title in 1993, beating Bernard Hopkins for the IBF middleweight belt. Jones kept winning and had 34 fights in a row without losing until 1997.
Jones retired from boxing earlier this year. He finished with 66 wins (47 by knockout) and 10 losses (5 by knockout) in his career.
"I had the gold medal, but I wanted to give it back. It's yours," Park told Jones as he handed over the medal.
"Wow, this is crazy!" Jones said when he got the medal.
The medal handover fixed a long-standing issue in Olympic boxing history. It gave Jones the recognition he deserved for his performance in Seoul all those years ago.
