37 years after ‘daylight robbery’, American boxer gets Olympic gold

American boxer gets Olympic gold after 37 years. (Photo: X)

Justice is delayed, but eventually it's not denied, although Roy Jones Jr had to wait for it for 37 years.

At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Jones Jr, representing the United States, faced South Korea’s Park Si-hun in the middle-weight boxing final. The American was clearly the better boxer on the day, landing 86 punches vis-à-vis Si-hun’s 32. And yet, the South Korean was awarded the victory by a split-decision.

Also Read | Without good sparring partners...: Lovlina Borgohain on early exit from World Boxing C'ships

It was a scandal, a ‘daylight robbery’, and three of the five judges were suspended. The incident also brought in reforms within the sport. Jones Jr was given the Val Barker Trophy, an acknowledgment that he was the best boxer in his category at the Games. But he missed out on the gold medal.

More than three decades down the line, the course correction has happened. And it was Si-hun who took the initiative to put things right. Jones Jr revealed it via a post on social media.

“In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history,” he wrote on his X handle. “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.”

The scoring system in boxing underwent reforms following the incident. In 1990, AIBA, amateur boxing’s governing body, introduced a computerised scoring system. Subjective scoring after each round was done away with.

As for Jones Jr, his career progressed smoothly despite losing out on an Olympic gold. He went on to win multiple world championship titles across four weight categories — middle-weight, super middle-weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Defeating John Ruiz in 2003 after stepping up to heavyweight was his crowning glory. A middle-weight boxer switching to heavyweight and winning a world title didn't happen in the previous 100 years.