Aiming for the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Roy Jones Jr. faced Park Si-Hun from South Korea without having lost a single round in the four matches prior to the final. From the beginning of the match, Jones Jr. demonstrated outstanding boxing with a busy jab, fluid movement, and a calm demeanor. However, in a shocking end, Jones Jr. lost the match via a  3–2 split decision. Park Si-Hun walked away with the gold while Roy Jones Jr. had to make do with silver, despite being the better of the two. Speaking of the controversial Jones Jr. vs. Park Si-Hun, veteran boxer Gennady Golovkin, used the example to highlight the corruption in boxing, especially amateur boxing.

When you revisit Roy Jones Jr. vs. Park Si-Hun, you can admire the fine boxing displayed by the boxer from Florida. For example, in the first round with a little less than two minutes left, as Si-Hun tried to close in on the distance with a cross, calm Jones Jr. landed a fast combination on the former before ending with a lead hook to the face with such fluidity. But although Jones Jr. landed 86 total punches against Si-Hun’s 32, three judges scored the fight against the former. However, the outrage caused by the incident led the IOC to ban two of the three judges who voted for Park from the sport for life. Even the winner, Park Si-Hun, felt the decision was wrong and struggled with the pressure of the victory for a long time.

So, now that the International Olympic Committee has put boxing’s inclusion in the upcoming LA 2028 Olympics on hold, Kevin Iole asked Olympic silver medalist and the President of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Gennady Golovkin if corruption, in cases like that of Roy Jones Jr. had anything to do with the IOC’s current decision regarding the sport. “I tend to agree with you. So, corruption exists in many sports including boxing,” began ‘GGG’ through a translator.

“It bothers me as a boxer, former Olympian, as the president of the National Olympic Committee right now,” added Gennady Golovkin. In this connection, ‘GGG’ referred to a licensing qualification tournament he recently attended in Milan. He completely appreciated the way the tournament used AI and computers to “minimize the human factor.” In his opinion, the use of such tools can help maintain the integrity of the sport at the Olympics, too.

Gennady Golovkin wants the judges to justify their scores

In amateur boxing, judges have to press a button every time a corner lands a scoring blow in the ring. So, some judges have cheated by pressing the button more or less than required. For that reason, Gennady Golovkin feels one has to analyze the judges’ performances too. So, speaking of fairness, he again referred to the tournament he attended in Milan. “The selection of judges by computer like random selection is very important,” said Golovkin.

“Also, the judges are being tracked in what they’re doing. If three judges press the button 20 times and one judge presses it 50 or 60 times, he has to justify it,” he added. “In Italy, I already saw it being analyzed in order to make it fair,” Gennady Golovkin concluded.

Therefore, Golovkin believes the same can be done for Olympic boxing matches as well. Even though they may not solve the problem in its entirety, incidents like the one that happened in the 1988 Seoul Olympics can be avoided. These developments, according to Golovkin, will go a long way in reducing corruption in the sport, making it cleaner, and “that’s the ultimate goal.”

With that said, what do you think of corruption in boxing? Should there be the use of AI to reduce corruption? Let us know in the comments below.