Pensacola boxer Roy Jones, Jr. now has the gold that eluded him after a controversial loss during the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, following an honorable act of sportsmanship by his former opponent.
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In a video posted on his YouTube page on Wednesday, Jones revealed that the South Korean fighter, who was awarded the win in 1988, traveled to Pensacola to give him the gold medal two years ago.
Park Si-hun and his family made a surprise visit to the gym at Jones’ ranch in May 2023.
“So good to see you, my brother," exclaimed Jones in the video, as he greeted Park with a hug and extended handshake.
Park’s son said his dad had waited 36 years for the moment.
“I had the gold medal, but I wanted to give it back to you. It belongs to you,” Park said through his son, who translated. Jones teared up over the gesture.
In the light middleweight title bout, where Jones landed more punches and was widely thought to be leading on the scorecard, Park Si-Hun was awarded a 3-2 decision. The South Korean reportedly apologized to Jones right after the result was announced and acknowledged him as the rightful victor.
For Jones, Park’s gifting of the gold medal corrected a decades-long injustice that had cast a shadow on both their lives.
In his post on Instagram, Jones wrote: “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 made the trip from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.”
In interviews in the years since, Park has said the criticism he received led to severe depression and multiple suicide attempts.
After the controversial match, Park retired from boxing after the Olympics but later became a coach for the South Korean team.
Despite being given the silver medal, Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy for “most outstanding” boxer at the 1988 Olympic Games, and he went on to have a Hall of Fame professional career.
He went 66-9 as a pro and won titles in four weight classes from middleweight to heavyweight, and he was once regarded as the best “pound for pound” boxer in the world.
