On May 18, 1996 Michael Parris won by points after 12 rounds over a young and confident Darius Ford The two battled for the bantamweight title of Guyana which Parris had won when he defeated Anthony `The Pearl’ Andrews in November 1983.
It was the second meeting between Ford and Parris. In the first held in August 1985, the more experienced Parris won by TKO in the eighth round. Parris became a professional in November 1982, two years after winning a bronze medal at the Moscow Olympics.
Parris would lose to Andrews in February 1984 via an 11th round TKO. He would make attempts at the Commonwealth bantamweight and super bantamweight titles but was unsuccessful on both occasions.
Bahamian Ray Minus won a unanimous decision to take the bantamweight title in March 1989 while Neil Swain won the super bantamweight crown following a second round TKO of Parris.
In November 1995 Parris pulled the curtains down on a stellar career. He TKOed Paul Lloyd in round four to end his career on a high note. Today, Parris remains the lone Guyanese to win an Olympic medal.