Roy Jones Jr. finally gets his stolen Olympic gold

In May 2023, the story resorted to. Park If Hun, the man gave Olympic Gold controversy over Roy Jones Jr. In Seoul 1988, he appeared at the Ranch Pensacola de Jones with the medal in his hand. Thirty-five years later, he handed him out, admitting what the whole world already knew, “He had the gold medal, but he wanted to return it.

The moment was surreal. Families gathered, Roding cameras and park, with a nervous laugh, added: “This gold medal is your problem now.” For Jones, who had long buried Olympic robbery under layers of pride and legendary victories, it was an account. For Park, who was haunted, it was a launch.

Night Olympic boxing sold his soul

Seoul 1988 was one of the dirtiest nights of amateur boxing. Roy Jones Jr. Humiliate Park, overcoming -86 punches to 32, but three blind or bent judges handed the decision to South Korea. The score was 3-2, a divided verdict, so it rotated throughout the world.

Jones moved away with the Val Barker trophy for the “best stylistic boxer of the games”, but not the medal that should have been around the neck. Years later, the Olympic officials admitted corruption, with a whisper of political treatment and national pressure. The IOC quietly reviewed the fan score after the scandal, but never reversed the decision. They let the robbery put on.

Jones later said he pledged not to let the judges steal him again: “That day he taught me one thing: to remove the judges. And he lived there. From the average weight champion to a heavy weight, he forged a race that showed that his dominion was no runoff.

The park’s load: depression, shame and a medal that never wanted

The park did not run out of touch. He apologized to Jones after the fight, admitting that the decision was wrong. But in South Korea, he was not a hero. It became an expiatory goat, viliated by its own country, fighting the depression, attempts of suicide and decades of guilt.

In a three -hour place after the medal returned, Park admitted, “He never wanted it. He destroyed me.” These are not words of a champion: they are the words of a man who carries another person’s crime. His trip to Pensacola was a way to release.

Jones, trapped by Park’s arrival, admitted that the crash hit him strongly: “I thought I was coming to an interview. I didn’t know he was coming to peace with my past.” Now, with the medal in his possession, Jones talks about the documentary, not only about the robbery, but also about the legacy, the resilience and the way of life after the injustice.

My prey

Let’s call this: Olympic boxing sold Roy Jones Jr. In the river in ’88. The judges were bent, officials had no problems and the IOC never had their spine to correct evil. They changed the score system, but left the biggest injustice to rot the books. This is the corruption dressed in reform.

The park returning to the medal is emotional, without a doubt. But we do not pretend to erase the whiteboard. The damage was made. Jones was stolen on the biggest stage and Park was ruined later. The two men lost in different ways.

And the IOC? They skate free. Without liability, no apologies, or official reversal. Only the bureaucrats hid behind their rules as two fighters experienced the consequences. This is the real scandal.

If Jones does this documentary, I hope it sinks in the Olympic dresses that let it slide. Because it was not just a bad decision, it was the Olympic boxing that showed the world that was rotten in the nucleus.