FROM envelopes stuffed with cash to “rigged” judges – Roy Jones Jr was robbed of his gold medal in the biggest ever scandal in Olympic boxing.
Jones, then 19, breezed into the 1988 light welterweight final in Seoul to face home favourite Park Si-Hun.
And he appeared to have made short work of South Korea’s Park, landing 86 shots to his opponent’s 32.
Two eight-strike stand-ups should have sealed the win and an Olympic gold medal for Jones – but the arrangement was put in place.
With only two of the five judges scoring in favour of the American – it left TV viewers furious.
After the shock result was announced, Italian referee Aldo Leoni is said to have whispered to Jones: “I can’t believe they did this to you.”
Uganda’s Bob Kasule, Uruguay’s Alberto Duran and Morocco’s Hiouad Larbi were all shamed for scoring against Park.
And in a shocking confession immediately after the fight, Moroccan Larbi admitted he had deliberately given it to Park to avoid a humiliating cover-up.
“The American won easily; so easily that I was sure the other four judges would have scored the fight for the American by a large margin,” Larbi said.
“So I voted for Korea so that the score would only be 4-1 in favour of the Americans and not embarrass the host country.”
Larbi, Kasule and Duran were all suspended for six months pending an investigation – but were eventually cleared by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
Jones was awarded the Val Barker trophy for the best boxer at the 1988 Olympics – and he was not amused.