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The '88 Olympics: the boxing scandals
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Beej

Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:22 am Post subject:

Hollywoodaction wrote:

That's nothing. You should have seen the Park vs. Downey semi-final match. Park was overwhelmed, so much so that he spent most of the time holding Downey so he wouldn't get hit, and yet he won.

Wow. How can you remember that?

rocklee

Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:29 am Post subject:

Hollywoodaction wrote:

That's nothing. You should have seen the Park vs. Downey semi-final match. Park was overwhelmed, so much so that he spent most of the time holding Downey so he wouldn't get hit, and yet he won.

It was said that the Olympic committee would never hold another Olympics in Seoul again after Korea's conduct in 1988.

I'm surprised that some people are trying to dispute the shame by bringing up someone elses. Funny how immature some people can be. Its quite clear that this boxer got robbed, now my eyes are opened even wider.

just another day

Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Location: Living with the Alaskan Inuits!!

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:40 am Post subject:

rocklee wrote:

Hollywoodaction wrote:

That's nothing. You should have seen the Park vs. Downey semi-final match. Park was overwhelmed, so much so that he spent most of the time holding Downey so he wouldn't get hit, and yet he won.

are u chinese? i dunno how chinese can speak on anything related to sports honor after so many koreans were attacked in china during the 2002 World Cup.

Mind you, Korea didn't beat China during the world cup bc they never played. Chinese attacked Koreans living in China because they were JEALOUS of Korea's success in the WC! Even tho Korea didn't play China! Imagine that! How much more coca-roach like can u get?

The reason people bring up Roy Jones is because of Korean outrage at Paul Hamm and Ohno, and then American people remembered and brought up the Roy Jones Jr. fight to say "see, you guys cheated too"

and then i am discussing what I see as differences. It is called an implicit assumption. But I suppose you don't know this assumption because you were too angry during the World Cup.

manlyboy

Joined: 01 Aug 2004
Location: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:53 am Post subject:

This is quite the coincidence. Not more than two hours ago I checked out this boxing gym near my in-laws place, and turns out it is run by one Kim Kwang Sun - flyweight gold medalist from the '88 Olympics. He was very, very cool. Gave me his own slippers to look around his gym. Apparently he turned pro in 1990 and fought for world titles twice. In his first shot he was leading on points but got TKO-ed in the 12th. Looks like his gold medal was legit.

rocklee

Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:02 am Post subject:

A documentary based on the same fight :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UsgY99FtWsU

And some interesting tidbit concerning korean boxing in 1988 :

Quote:

The Top 10 Most Controversial Olympic Moments

4. 1988: Korean boxing fix

Korea wanted to put on a good show in Seoul. Particularly, in boxing. Olympic boxing is the most crooked thing I've ever seen. One part martial art, two-parts rhythmic gymnastics, always remember: boxing is a judged sport. At times there is no rhyme, reason or consistency to any of the scoring in boxing, and when the right palms are greased, anything can happen.

The South Koreans had all sorts of backdealings going on in boxing when they had the Games, that it got an entire chapter all to itself in the bestselling bible of Olympic corruption, The New Lords of the Rings. Not wanting to lose face, there were two instances in which they were guaranteed a gold medal. No matter what happened. Even if their boxers convulsed into epileptic seizures on the canvas.

The first is the infamous Byun Jong-il, in the Bantamweight division. Assured a medal by the judges, he got pasted by Bulgaria's Alexander Hristov and had points deducted for headbutting. There was no way the judges could fudge this one; they ruled in favour of the Bulgarian. Byun had lost, and lost badly. Upset at the decision, Byun sat down in the middle of the ring and staged a silent protest for 67 minutes. He stayed there, motionless, eventually giving up after the organisers turned off the hall lights and left him in darkness. Ha ha ha.

Of course Korea was just as livid. The New Zealand referee of the match, Keith Walker, nearly had the crap beaten out of him by Korean boxing officials and security guards. He had to flee Seoul the next day.

The second story is even more bizarre. Park Si-Hun, in the light-middleweight division, fought through five consecutive disputed victories, assured of the gold medal--and won. How? To this day nobody really knows. In the final match he met an upstart American teenager who absolutely destroyed him. I'm talking a big league demolishing, like Ivan Drago on Apollo Creed. The match was nowhere even close, the landed punches were something like 86-15 for the American, and if the fight had gone on another round, he would've sent Park into the parking lot (hehe). Yet the judges ruled for the Korean. Something this blatant is not a mistake or miscalculation. The fix was clearly on. But even though everyone knew, no one owned up to it, the judges insisted Park had won, and no investigation or protest was ever staged. The matter was quietly buried, and to this day the judges stand by their decision. Because, you know, obviously Park Si-Hun was the superior boxer. Why, just look at the incredible professional career he went on to have after the Olympics.

By the way, the name of the American who obliderated him? Some nobody called Roy Jones Jr.

endo

Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:13 am Post subject:

manlyboy wrote:

This is quite the coincidence. Not more than two hours ago I checked out this boxing gym near my in-laws place, and turns out it is run by one Kim Kwang Sun - flyweight gold medalist from the '88 Olympics. He was very, very cool. Gave me his own slippers to look around his gym. Apparently he turned pro in 1990 and fought for world titles twice. In his first shot he was leading on points but got TKO-ed in the 12th. Looks like his gold medal was legit.

What? Did you watch the youtube video of the fight?

And if the gold was legite, then why did he apologise to Roy Jones?

just another day

Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Location: Living with the Alaskan Inuits!!

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:20 am Post subject:

endo wrote:

manlyboy wrote:

What? Did you watch the youtube video of the fight?

And if the gold was legite, then why did he apologise to Roy Jones?

manlyboy is talking about a different korean fighter. he's saying coincidentally another boxer from the 88 olympcs... its understandable to mix up korean names... it gets time to get used to rote memory wise.

endo

Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:21 am Post subject:

just another day wrote:

The reason people bring up Roy Jones is because of Korean outrage at Paul Hamm and Ohno, and then American people remembered and brought up the Roy Jones Jr. fight to say "see, you guys cheated too"

The thing is there wasn't money exchanged to the judges which resulted in Ohno's win at the Salt Lake City Games. It may have been a bad call, but nobody is suggesting the money was given in order to redetermine who won the gold.

It's the exact opposite with Park and the Seoul games. The fix was on from the beginning.

So don't compare the two becase there is no comparison.

just another day

Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Location: Living with the Alaskan Inuits!!

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:25 am Post subject:

endo wrote:

just another day wrote:

The reason people bring up Roy Jones is because of Korean outrage at Paul Hamm and Ohno, and then American people remembered and brought up the Roy Jones Jr. fight to say "see, you guys cheated too"

corruption sucks. if park didn't apologize and if jones wasn't declared the most outstanding fighter of the olympics, and people actually defended park as being a legitimate winner, then i assure you the shame would be bad enough that koreans would not stand for that status quo.

Ya-ta Boy

Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:45 am Post subject:

Quote:

What I find more sad is I can't find one child who knows the '88 Olympics were held in Seoul.

How times change.

Back in the 90's I was teaching adults with an Interchange book. Class after class said unanymously that the major event of the 80's (or the whole century) was the Seoul '88 Olympics. It was clearly far more significant than the Berlin Wall coming down.

rocklee

Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:45 am Post subject:

endo wrote:

just another day wrote:

The reason people bring up Roy Jones is because of Korean outrage at Paul Hamm and Ohno, and then American people remembered and brought up the Roy Jones Jr. fight to say "see, you guys cheated too"

Correct. Ohno himself was disqualified for falling in previous races during that period so its pretty much a give and take sport only that he was unfairly blocked by Dong-sung. But this isn't about Ohno, its about THAT boxing match I'm sure you've all heard of.

PS. Dammit found a great video of Ohno, what a positive guy :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pNtMm0tp7Vk

endo

Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:14 am Post subject:

just another day wrote:

endo wrote:

just another day wrote:

The reason people bring up Roy Jones is because of Korean outrage at Paul Hamm and Ohno, and then American people remembered and brought up the Roy Jones Jr. fight to say "see, you guys cheated too"

First of all if you had to choose between a *beep*@ng gold medal and an award I think you would and everybody else on this planet would take the gold.

Roy Jones got screwed over hard, so don't make it look like the award for most outstanding fighter was of any consolation. Give me a break.

And the Koreans did stand for the injustice. First of all South Korean officials bribed the judges. That's painfully obvious.

Then the Korean public and media cheered him like a national hero when he obviously didn't deserve it.

Lastly, Park himself knew he didn't deserve the win and if he was truely a man he would of at least offered the gold to Jones.

And I do know that their has been other shadey actions by judges at the olympics (not the Ohno incident though) that favored other nations (see figure skating) and I would call them out just as hard.

So I'm not just picking in Korea.

However, I do feel that cheating and bribery is a big part of how they do buisness in this country. More so than most other developed nations. And this was reflected on at the Olympics in 1988.

charlieDD

Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Location: Seoul, Korea

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:23 am Post subject:

just another day wrote:

apolo did a pretty good acting job aftewards and expressed no remorse. but revenge was taken 4 years later Twisted Evil

. so thats over now. they all made up, its all good.

This sounds just like the Middle East / Arab mentality: revenge begetting revenge begetting revenge.

So infantile.

Last edited by charlieDD on Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:31 am; edited 1 time in total

charlieDD

Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Location: Seoul, Korea

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:30 am Post subject:

endo wrote:

And the Koreans did stand for the injustice. First of all South Korean officials bribed the judges. That's painfully obvious.

Then the Korean public and media cheered him like a national hero when he obviously didn't deserve it.

. . . I do feel that cheating and bribery is a big part of how they do buisness in this country. More so than most other developed nations. And this was reflected on at the Olympics in 1988.

Well put and precisely why I think this incident is worth pointing out to newbies to the country. The situations may vary, so-called "modernization" may take place, but the underlying trait and behavior remain. Best to keep this in mind when dealing with the locals, on any level.

Hollywoodaction

Joined: 02 Jul 2004

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:37 pm Post subject:

Beej wrote:

Hollywoodaction wrote:

That's nothing. You should have seen the Park vs. Downey semi-final match. Park was overwhelmed, so much so that he spent most of the time holding Downey so he wouldn't get hit, and yet he won.

Wow. How can you remember that?

You know, we aren't all still wet behind the ears.

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