Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in a rare act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.
Corridor of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years in the past that confirmed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to current him with the sunshine middleweight gold medal.
“I had the gold medal, however I wish to give it again to you. It belongs to you,” Park mentioned within the video by his son, who translated.
Jones, who was overcome with emotion by the gesture, coated his face together with his hand earlier than saying: “Wow, that’s loopy.”
Their match on the Seoul Olympics stays one among boxing’s most contentious moments as Jones appeared to dominate the battle however misplaced to Park by a 3-2 determination that drew prompt criticism and sparked enduring controversy.
Regardless of shedding the gold medal match, Jones was chosen because the Val Barker Trophy winner as the perfect boxer of the 1988 Olympics.
Jones went on to turn into a four-division world champion and is thought to be one of many sport’s greatest pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
“In 1988, I used to be robbed of the gold medal in what turned one of many largest controversies in boxing historical past,” Jones wrote in his Instagram publish.
“By the grace of God, a few years in the past, the person who received that medal made the journey from South Korea to my dwelling to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.
“I hope you get pleasure from this second as a lot as I did.”
—Reuters
