100 Olympic Tidbits: Robbery in Seoul
One of the most controversial decisions in Olympic boxing history took place in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The gold medal bout in the light middleweight division featured American Roy Jones, Jr., who had blitzed his way to the final without dropping a single round, and local bet Park Si-Hun.
Jones, who would later go on to capture titles in four weight divisions as a professional, was the heavy favorite, and it appeared he had done more than enough to win the gold. He landed 86 punches compared to only 32 for Park in a clear display of dominance. But when the decision was announced, Park was declared the winner by a score of 3-2. This was the era before electronic scoring, when the votes of five judges were all that mattered.
The farcical result led to reforms in Olympic boxing and eventually gave rise to electronic scoring. The International Olympic Committee launched an investigation, and although evidence suggested that South Korean officials supposedly wined and dined the judges, the IOC refused to overturn the verdict, and Park’s gold medal result stands to this day.
Editor's Note: To celebrate the 100-day countdown to the London Games, we will be publishing 100 tidbits about the Olympics. Come back to Yahoo! PH Sports, as we publish a new tidbit every day.
