The jury is out to see whether a complete overhaul truly awaits the current global amateur boxing system.

One notable prior victim is taking a proactive role to ensure the future of the sport is in better hands.

Legendary former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. was on hand for a press conference conducted by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Monday at Beau Rivage Palace, Lausanne, Switzerland. The purpose of the session was to review the first six months under the new leadership of president Umar Kremlev, who has vowed sweeping reform in an amateur boxing program mired in decades-long corruption.

Few in history can relate as well as Jones, who was on the wrong side of arguably the worst decision in Olympic Boxing history. Jones suffered a controversial loss to South Korea’s Park Si-Hun in the Gold medal round of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, having to settle for a Silver medal despite overwhelming the regional favorite in the light middleweight final.

“It was a heart-wrenching situation, I will never forget the feeling I had that day when they raised the Korean’s hand over mine,” Jones recalled during Monday’s press conference. “To be here to help right the wrongs in boxing is a big step. To have a wrong undone and fix it, makes me feel alive. I definitely like to be part of a solution.

“If we don’t do things from the outside of boxing right now and step in to try to fix these things, the integrity of this sport will continue to decrease. The integrity of the sport is to where you can’t just point to that one event.”

The controversial decision played a major part in the revised scoring method for future Olympic Games—beginning with 1992 Barcelona. The competition has since reverted back to round-by-round scoring, though with corruption still far too evident.

Jones took an interest in joining the cause shortly after Kremlev—the former head of the Russian Boxing Federation—was elected AIBA President last December. The election came after AIBA had its power removed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding organization and oversight of the Olympic competition.

The long-troubled international program was long mired in disgraceful decisions and corruption, including a number of questionable decisions in the 2016 Rio Olympics which saw several officials relieved of duty prior to the conclusion of the quadrennial competition.

The organization hit an all-time low with the previous appointment of Gafur Rakhimov as its interim president in January 2018. The disgraced Uzbek businessman with alleged ties to organized crime was elected full president in November 2018, despite the urgings of the IOC to move in a different direction or risk its removal of power in future Olympic boxing competition.

Rakhimov—who was on Uzbekistan’s most-wanted list before being removed during his term as interim president—  resigned in July 2019 amidst growing pressure.

AIBA will not have any involvement in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer, with hopes of showing enough progress to gain reinstatement ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Part of that movement includes AIBA’s dedication to remove $16 million worth of organizational debt and properly invest current funds—and all of its time—into program reform.

Part of that movement includes allowing athletes such as Jones to have a voice, rather than continue to serve at the mercy of officials and directors with conflicting interests.

“We are always open to independent help,” notes Kremlev. “This is something we badly need. We cannot do it all on our own and are happy to work with knowledgeable professionals. A group of people ruined (Jones’) life. I don’t want that to happen in boxing. Sports have their role and rules, we must abide by them.

“I was elected president to open communication with all involved parties to guarantee that nobody else ever violates those rules. It’s criminal to crush the life of an athlete. People can be achievers and produce positive results. We must stop this corruption. That is why we are getting our colleagues to stop this from the inside.”

The vision of a teary-eyed 19-year-old Jones in the ring forced to hear a corrupt decision is a memory that has resonated far more than the same committee awarding him with the Val Barker Trophy as the most outstanding boxer of competition. Acknowledging the corrupt decision—with even Park Si-Hun admitting he didn’t deserve to win—has done little to resolve what took place in real time.

Jones admits the horrific situation playing a role in a pro career destined for the International Boxing Hall of Fame for which he’s eligible for the voting ballot later this year. Still, it’s a situation neither he nor any other athlete should have to endure. It shouldn’t have been the case for Jones, as the problem was in place long before the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“It may have fueled me to become an even better professional than I may have become,” Jones admits. “But, the facts still remain the same. The judges were banned, but mine wasn’t the only situation like that. It wasn’t just that one group (from Jones’ fight) that got hit, it’s a whole group of them. To see us come here now and be a part of a team that can fix the situation, to resolve and let boxers known when they step in the ring, they don’t have to worry about (the referee). They don’t have to worry about the judges around the ring.

“They know all of these people are put there to give them a fair decision and that they are being judged fairly. That is what inspired me to go to the Olympics and fight on a world stage… for years, some countries didn’t have professional boxing. All they had was the Olympics. The Olympic (Gold medalist) was their champion. To have these guys competing and not being treated fairly is an awful situation. I’m so glad people are stepping up to be part of the solution.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox