Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith
Statistics
Real name	Emile Alphonse Griffith
Rated at	Welterweight Middleweight
Nationality	American
Born	February 3, 1938 Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Died	July 23, 2013(2013-07-23) (aged 75) Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	112
Wins	85
Wins by KO	23
Losses	24
Draws	2
No contests	1

Emile Alphonse Griffith (February 3, 1938 – July 23, 2013) was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who became a World Champion in the welterweight,^[1] junior middleweight^[2] and middleweight^[3] classes. His best known contest was a 1962 title match with Benny Paret. At the weigh in, Paret infuriated Griffith, a bisexual man, by touching his buttocks and making homophobic remarks. Griffith won the bout by knockout; Paret never recovered consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days later.^[4]

Career

Amateur

As a teen he was working at a hat factory on a steamy day when his boss, the factory owner, agreed to Griffith's request to work shirtless. When the owner, a former amateur boxer, noticed his frame he took Griffith to trainer Gil Clancy's gym.^[5]

Griffith won the 1958 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championship. Griffith defeated Osvaldo Marcano of the Police Athletic Leagues Lynch Center in the finals to win the Championship. In 1957 Griffith advanced to the finals of the 147 lb Sub-Novice division and was defeated by Charles Wormley of the Salem Crescent Athletic Club. Griffith trained at the West 28th Street Parks Department Gym in New York City.

Professional

Griffith turned professional in 1958 and fought frequently in New York City. He captured the Welterweight title from Cuban Benny "The Kid" Paret by knocking him out in the 13th round on April 1, 1961. Six months later Griffith lost the title to Paret in a narrow split decision. Griffith regained the title from Paret on March 24, 1962 in the controversial bout after which Paret died, see below.

Griffith waged a classic three-fight series with Luis Rodríguez, losing the first and winning the other two. He defeated middleweight contender Holly Mims but was knocked out in one round by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Three years later, on April 25, 1966, he faced middleweight champion Dick Tiger and won a 15-round unanimous decision and the middleweight title. He also lost, regained and then lost the middleweight crown in three classic fights with Nino Benvenuti.

But many boxing fans believed he was never quite the same fighter after Paret's death. From the Paret bout to his retirement in 1977, Griffith fought 80 bouts but only scored twelve knockouts. He later admitted to being gentler with his opponents and relying on his superior boxing skills, because he was terrified of killing someone else in the ring. Like so many other fighters, Griffith fought well past his prime. He won only nine of his last twenty three fights.

Other boxers whom he fought in his career included world champions American Denny Moyer, Cuban Luis Rodríguez, Argentine Carlos Monzón, Nigerian Dick Tiger, Cuban José Nápoles, and in his last title try, German Eckhard Dagge. After 18 years as a professional boxer, Griffith retired with a record of 85 wins (25 by knockout), 24 losses and 2 draws.

Benny Paret

Griffith and Paret's third fight, which was nationally televised by ABC, occurred on March 24, 1962 at Madison Square Garden. Griffith had been incensed by an anti-gay slur directed at him by Paret during the weigh-in. He had worked in a women's hat factory, and later designed hats.^[6] Paret touched Griffith's buttocks and called his opponent a maricón, Spanish slang for "faggot";^[5]

Griffith had to be restrained from attacking him on the spot. The media at the time either ignored the slur or used euphemisms such as "anti-man". Griffith's girlfriend asked him about the incident saying "I didn't know about you being that way". In the sixth round Paret came close to stopping Griffith with a multi punch combination but Griffith was saved by the bell.^[7] After the sixth round Griffith's trainer, Gil Clancy, later said he told him, "when you go inside I want you to keep punching until Paret holds you or the referee breaks you! But you keep punching until he does that!".^[5]

In round 12 Griffith trapped Paret in a corner. Stunned after taking hard blows to the head, Paret stopped punching back and slumped to the side against the ropes although his upper body was through them and partly out of the ring. Griffith held his opponent's shoulder keeping him in position while using his free hand to hit Paret, who was no longer trying to protect himself by head movement or an arm guard. Griffith repeatedly landed right uppercuts on Paret's head. Many watching were shocked, and there were calls from ringside for the referee to halt the bout; Norman Mailer said it was the hardest he had ever seen one man hit by another. Paret then lolled back and was hit with a combination.

At this point Ruby Goldstein stepped in, thereby awarding Griffith a win by technical knockout. Immediately after the referee intervened, Paret, who had remained on his feet throughout, slowly slid to the floor. He was carried from the ring on a stretcher and died ten days later in hospital without regaining consciousness. Goldstein had a reputation as a tender-minded referee who stopped bouts at an early stage; admirers said he may have been suffering after-effects from a heart attack. He never refereed again. Paret's manager was also criticized for not retiring his boxer with a timely throwing in of the towel during the beating.

Griffith told a television interviewer "I'm very proud to be the welterweight champion again. I hope Paret is feeling very good." When the seriousness of the situation become known, Griffith went to the hospital where Paret was being treated and unsuccessfully attempted for several hours to gain entry to Paret's room. Following that he ran through the streets while being insulted by passers-by. He would later receive hate mail from Paret supporters who were convinced Griffith intentionally killed Paret.^[5]

New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller created a seven-man commission to investigate the incident and the sport.^[5] ABC, which televised the fatal bout, ended its boxing broadcasts and other U.S. networks followed; the sport would not return to free television until the 1970s. Griffith reportedly felt guilt over Paret's death and suffered nightmares about Paret for 40 years.^[5]

The fight, and the widespread publicity and criticism of boxing which accompanied it, became the basis of the 2005 documentary Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story. In the last scene of Ring of Fire, Griffith was introduced to Paret's son. The son embraced the elderly fighter and told him he was forgiven. However, Paret's widow Lucy (died 2004) refused to meet him.

Trainer

Griffith trained other boxers, including Wilfred Benítez and Juan Laporte of Puerto Rico. Both won world championships. Griffith, Monzon, Benvenuti, Rodriguez, Tiger, Nápoles and Benítez are members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. From 1979-80, he was in Denmark serving as the coach of the Danish Olympic boxing team.

Personal life

Luis Rodrigo Griffith, Emile's adopted son and caretaker, at the after party of the world premiere of Terence Blanchard's opera Champion on June 15, 2013.

In 1971, two months after they met, Griffith married Mercedes "Sadie" Donastorg, who was then a member of the dance troupe "Prince Rupert and the Slave Girls". Griffith adopted Donastorg's daughter.^[5] After retiring from boxing, Griffith worked as a corrections officer at the Secaucus, New Jersey Juvenile Detention Facility.

In 1992, Griffith was viciously beaten and almost killed on a New York City street after leaving a gay bar near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. He was in the hospital for four months after the assault. It was not clear if the violence was motivated by homophobia.^[8]

Griffith was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying "I like men and women both. But I don't like that word: homosexual, gay or faggot. I don't know what I am. I love men and women the same, but if you ask me which is better ... I like women." ^[5]

Death

Griffith died July 23, 2013, at a care facility in Hempstead, New York. In his final years, he required full-time care and suffered from dementia pugilistica. His adopted son, Luis Rodrigo Griffith, was his primary caregiver.^[9]

Media representations

• In January 2005, filmmakers Dan Klores and Ron Berger premiered their documentary Ring Of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. It was subsequently broadcast on television on USA Network.
• Griffith's December 20, 1963 bout with Rubin Carter (which Griffith lost) is depicted in the opening scene of the 1999 motion picture The Hurricane. Griffith is portrayed by former boxer Terry Claybon, while actor Denzel Washington stars as Carter.
• In May 2012 it was announced that trumpeter Terence Blanchard and playwright Michael Cristofer were working on an opera titled Champion (opera) based on Griffith's story, which premiered at Opera Theatre of St. Louis on June 15, 2013. The opera was directed by James Robinson and starred Denyce Graves, Aubrey Allicock, Arthur Woodley, and Robert Orth.
• Irish director Lenny Abrahamson is working on a biopic focusing on Griffith's rivalry with Paret to be released in 2017.^[10]
• A stage play based on Griffith's story, Brown Girl in the Ring, premiered on September 26, 2016 in Chicago. Commissioned and produced by Court Theatre, it was written by Michael Cristofer, directed by Charlie Newell, choreographed by Tommy Rapley, and starred Kamal Angelo Bolden, Allen Gilmore, Thomas J. Cox, Jacqueline Williams, Melanie Brezill, Gabriel Ruiz, Sheldon Brown, Sean Michael Sullivan. John Culbert designed sets, Jacqueline Firkins designed costumes, Keith Parham designed lights, and Andre Pluess designed sound and composed original music.

Professional boxing record

85 Wins (23 Knockouts), 24 Defeats (2 Knockouts), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest[11]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	85-24-2	Alan Minter	PTS	10	1977-07-30	Stade Louis II, Fontvieille
Loss	85-23-2	Mayfield Pennington	SD	10	1977-07-16	Commonwealth Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	85-22-2	Joel Bonnetaz	PTS	10	1977-04-15	Périgueux, Dordogne
Win	85-21-2	Christy Elliott	MD	10	1977-02-02	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	84-21-2	Frank Reiche	TKO	10 (10)	1976-12-04	Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win	83-21-2	Dino Del Cid	TKO	4 (10)	1976-10-24	Cartagena
Loss	82-21-2	Eckhard Dagge	MD	15	1976-09-18	Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin	For WBC World Light Middleweight title
Draw	82-20-2	Bennie Briscoe	PTS	10	1976-06-26	Stade Louis II, Fontvieille
Loss	82-20-1	Loucif Hamani	PTS	10	1976-02-09	Paris, Île-de-France
Win	82-19-1	Jose Roberto Chirino	UD	10	1975-11-07	Coliseum Theatre, Latham, New York
Loss	81-19-1	Elijah Makathini	PTS	10	1975-08-09	Orlando Stadium, Soweto, Transvaal
Win	81-18-1	Leo Saenz	UD	10	1975-07-23	Capitol Centre, Largo, Maryland
Loss	81-18-1	Jose Luis Duran	UD	10	1975-05-31	Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali
Win	80-17-1	Donato Paduano	UD	10	1974-12-10	Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec
Loss	79-17-1	Vito Antuofermo	UD	10	1974-11-22	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	79-16-1	Bennie Briscoe	MD	10	1974-10-09	The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	78-16-1	Renato Garcia	PTS	10	1974-05-25	Stade Louis II, Fontvieille
Loss	77-16-1	Tony Licata	UD	12	1974-02-05	Boston Arena, Boston, Massachusetts	For NABF Middleweight title
Loss	77-15-1	Tony Mundine	UD	12	1973-11-19	Palais des Sports, Paris, Île-de-France
Win	77-14-1	Manuel González	MD	10	1973-11-01	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida
Loss	76-14-1	Carlos Monzón	UD	15	1973-06-02	Stade Louis II, Fontvieille	For Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Draw	76-13-1	Nessim Max Cohen	PTS	10	1973-03-12	Palais des Sports, Paris, Île-de-France
Loss	76-13	Jean-Claude Bouttier	DQ	7 (10)	1972-12-18	Paris, Île-de-France
Win	76-12	Joe DeNucci	SD	12	1972-10-11	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Win	75-12	Joe DeNucci	SD	10	1972-09-16	Hynes Auditorium, Boston, Massachusetts
Win	74-12	Ernie Lopez	UD	10	1972-03-30	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	73-12	Jacques Kechichian	PTS	10	1972-02-21	Paris, Île-de-France
Win	72-12	Armando Muñíz	UD	10	1972-01-31	Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California
Win	71-12	Danny McAloon	UD	10	1971-12-10	Madison Square Garden, New York
Loss	70-12	Carlos Monzón	TKO	14 (15), 2:32	1971-09-25	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal	For Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	70-11	Nessim Max Cohen	UD	10	1971-07-26	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	69-11	Ernie Lopez	MD	10	1971-05-03	Nevada Sports Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	68-11	Rafael Gutierrez	UD	10	1971-03-23	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	67-11	Juan Ramos	TKO	7 (10)	1971-03-05	Lionel Roberts Stadium, Saint Thomas
Win	66-11	Nate Collins	UD	10	1970-11-10	Cow Palace, Daly City, California
Win	65-11	Danny Perez	UD	12	1970-10-17	Lionel Roberts Stadium, Saint Thomas
Win	64-11	Dick Tiger	UD	10	1970-07-15	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	63-11	Tom Bogs	PTS	10	1970-06-04	Valby-Hallen, Copenhagen
Win	62-11	Carlos Marks	UD	12	1970-03-11	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	61-11	Doyle Baird	UD	10	1970-01-28	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Loss	60-11	José Nápoles	UD	15	1969-10-17	The Forum, Inglewood, California	For Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	60-10	Art Hernandez	SD	10	1969-08-15	Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Win	59-10	Dick DiVeronica	TKO	7 (10), 1:28	1969-07-11	Blue Cross Arena, Syracuse, New York
Win	58-10	Stanley Hayward	UD	12	1969-05-12	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	57-10	Andy Heilman	UD	10	1969-02-03	Madison Square Garden, New York
Loss	56-10	Stanley Hayward	SD	10	1968-10-29	The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	56-9	Gypsy Joe Harris	UD	12	1968-08-06	The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	55-9	Andy Heilman	MD	12	1968-06-11	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Loss	54-9	Nino Benvenuti	UD	15	1968-03-04	Madison Square Garden, New York	Lost The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	54-8	Remo Golfarini	TKO	6 (10)	1967-12-15	Palazzo Dello Sport, Rome, Lazio	Retained The Ring and Lineal Middleweight title
Win	53-8	Nino Benvenuti	MD	15	1967-09-29	Shea Stadium, Queens, New York	Won The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Loss	52-8	Nino Benvenuti	UD	15	1967-04-17	Madison Square Garden, New York	Lost The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1967)
Win	52-7	Joey Archer	UD	15	1967-01-23	Madison Square Garden, New York	Retained The Ring, Lineal,WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	51-7	Joey Archer	MD	15	1966-07-13	Madison Square Garden, New York	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	50-7	Dick Tiger	UD	15	1966-04-25	Madison Square Garden, New York	Won The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Middleweight titles
Win	49-7	Johnny Brooks	UD	10	1966-02-03	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	48-7	Manuel González	UD	15	1965-12-10	Madison Square Garden, New York	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	47-7	Harry Scott	RTD	7 (10)	1965-10-04	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London
Win	46-7	Gabe Terronez	TKO	4 (10), 2:45	1965-09-14	Kearney Bowl, Fresno, California
Loss	45-7	Don Fullmer	UD	12	1965-08-19	Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	45-6	Eddie Pace	UD	10	1965-06-14	Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	44-6	Jose Stable	UD	15	1965-03-30	Madison Square Garden, New York	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Loss	43-6	Manuel González	SD	10	1965-01-26	Houston, Texas
Win	43-5	Dave Charnley	TKO	9 (10), 1:56	1964-12-01	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	Retained The Ring and Lineal Welterweight title
Win	42-5	Brian Curvis	UD	15	1964-09-22	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	41-5	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	SD	15	1964-06-12	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	40-5	Stan Harrington	KO	4 (10)	1964-04-14	Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii	Retained The Ring and Lineal Welterweight title
NC	39-5	Juan Carlo Duran	NC	7 (10)	1964-03-11	Sports Palace, Rome, Lazio
Win	39-5	Ralph Dupas	KO	3 (12)	1964-02-10	Sydney Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
Loss	38-5	Rubin Carter	TKO	1 (10), 2:13	1963-12-20	Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Win	38-4	Jose Monon Gonzalez	MD	10	1963-10-05	Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan
Win	37-4	Holly Mims	UD	10	1963-08-10	Convention Center, Saratoga Springs, New York
Win	36-4	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	SD	15	1963-06-08	Madison Square Garden, New York	Won The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Loss	35-4	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	UD	15	1963-03-21	Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles	Lost The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	35-3	Christian Christensen	TKO	9 (15)	1963-02-03	Forum Copenhagen, Copenhagen
Win	34-3	Jorge Fernandez	TKO	9 (15)	1962-12-08	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring, Lineal, WBC & WBA World Welterweight titles
Win	33-3	Ted Wright	PTS	15	1962-10-17	Stadthalle, Vienna
Win	32-3	Don Fullmer	UD	10	1962-10-06	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	31-3	Denny Moyer	SD	10	1962-08-18	Sports Arena, Tacoma, Washington
Win	30-3	Ralph Dupas	UD	15	1962-07-13	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring & World Welterweight titles
Win	29-3	Benny Paret	TKO	12 (15), 2:09	1962-03-24	Madison Square Garden, New York	Won The Ring & World Welterweight titles
Win	28-3	Johnny Torres	UD	10	1962-02-03	Lionel Roberts Stadium, Saint Thomas
Win	27-3	Isaac Logart	MD	10	1961-12-23	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Win	26-3	Stanford Bulla	KO	4 (10)	1961-11-04	Hamilton
Loss	25-3	Benny Paret	SD	15	1961-09-30	Madison Square Garden, New York	Lost The Ring & World Welterweight titles
Win	25-2	Yama Bahama	UD	10	1961-07-29	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	24-2	Gaspar Ortega	TKO	12 (15), 0:48	1961-06-03	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Retained The Ring & World Welterweight titles
Win	23-2	Benny Paret	KO	13 (15), 1:11	1961-04-01	Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida	Won The Ring & World Welterweight titles
Win	22-2	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	SD	10	1960-12-17	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	21-2	Willie Toweel	TKO	8 (10), 3:00	1960-10-22	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	20-2	Florentino Fernández	UD	10	1960-08-25	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	19-2	Jorge Fernandez	UD	10	1960-07-25	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	18-2	Jorge Fernandez	SD	10	1960-06-03	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Loss	17-2	Denny Moyer	SD	10	1960-04-26	Pacific Livestock Pavilion, Portland, Oregon
Win	17-1	Denny Moyer	SD	10	1960-03-11	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	16-1	Gaspar Ortega	SD	10	1960-02-12	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	15-1	Roberto Peña	UD	10	1960-01-08	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	14-1	Ray Lancaster	UD	10	1960-01-08	Academy of Music, New York
Loss	13-1	Randy Sandy	SD	10	1959-10-26	Academy of Music, New York
Win	13-0	Kid Fichique	UD	10	1959-08-07	Madison Square Garden, New York
Win	12-0	Willie Stevenson	UD	10	1959-05-25	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Win	11-0	Mel Barker	UD	10	1959-04-27	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Win	10-0	Bobby Shell	UD	10	1959-03-23	St. Nicholas Arena, New York
Win	9-0	Barry Allison	TKO	5 (10), 2:44	1959-02-23	St. Nicholas Arena, New York

Honors

Named The Ring Fighter of the Year for 1964.

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its initial year (1990) and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

A park has been named in Griffith's honor in his native US Virgin Islands.

See also

• List of lineal boxing world champions
• List of welterweight boxing champions
• List of light middleweight boxing champions
• List of middleweight boxing champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of WBA world champions
• List of undisputed boxing champions
• List of boxing triple champions

References

Further reading

• Lance Pugmire, "Emile Griffith dies at 75; champion boxer struggled with his sexuality" "LA Times", July 23, 2013
• Ron Ross, ""Nine...Ten...and Out! The Two Worlds of Emile Griffith" 2008
• Donald McRae, "The Night Boxer Emile Griffith Answered Gay Taunts with a Deadly Cortege of Punches," The Guardian, September 10, 2015.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Emile Griffith from BoxRec
• Emile Griffith at the Internet Movie Database
• Ring Memorabilia
• 'Ring of Fire' Connects With True Story of A Fatal Blow Washington Post article April 20, 2005