Benny Paret vs. Emile Griffith III

Date March 24, 1962 (1962-03-24)
Venue Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Title(s) on the line NBA/Ring/Lineal Welterweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Cuba Benny Paret United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith
Nickname "Kid"
Hometown Santa Clara, Cuba Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Pre-fight record 35-11-3 (10 KO) 28-3-0 (10 KO)
Height 5 ft 7.5 in (171 cm) 5 ft 7.5 in (171 cm)
Weight 146.25 lb (66 kg) 144 lb (65 kg)
Recognition NBA/Ring/Lineal
Welterweight Champion
Result
Griffith winner by KO, round 12, 2:09

Benny Paret vs. Emile Griffith III was the third meeting between Benny "Kid" Paret and Emile Griffith, for the Welterweight boxing championship, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on Saturday, March 24, 1962. Paret came into the match as the reigning Welterweight champion; this would be the deciding rubber match.

The match was broadcast live by ABC on its live weekly boxing sports program, Fight of the Week. The fight was both notable and controversial for the punishment Paret took in the ring at the hands of Griffith which led to his loss by knockout in round 12 of a scheduled 15 rounds. Paret died in the hospital of his injuries 10 days later. The match has been cited as one of the reasons for the decline of boxing as a mainstream televised sport, and led to political calls for bans on boxing bouts.[1]

Background

This fight was the third meeting between Paret and Griffith for the NBA/Ring/Lineal Welterweight title. On April 1, 1961, in his first title defense, Paret was defeated by Griffith in the 13th round by KO. In their second meeting on September 30, 1961, Paret recaptured the Welterweight crown by split decision. With Paret as the reigning champion, Griffith was heavily favored by Vegas oddsmakers as a 2:7 favorite to win and recapture the Welterweight title.[2]

Weigh-in

The morning of the fight, at the customary weigh-in, Paret needled Griffith with an insult in Spanish while Griffith stood on the scales. Contemporary newspaper reports described the exchange without being specific about the insult, but did say that when asked afterward to pose with Paret for photos, that Griffith replied, "I'd better not. I'm liable to swing right now."[3] The insult levied by Paret was maricón, understood by both boxers to mean "faggot". Griffith was enraged by the remark, and it set the tone for the fight that evening.[4]

Aftermath

This fight, among others (such as nationally televised Davey Moore vs. Sugar Ramos in March 1963, which caused Moore's death) gradually led to the decline of boxing as a popular televised sport. Ultimately, ABC announced in December 1963 that it would cancel its weekly boxing program, Fight of the Week, in September 1964.[5]

Undercard

[6]

Winner Result Opponent
Puerto Rico Taco Gonzalez MD4 United States Sid Marcus
Puerto Rico Angelo Soto TKO3 Puerto Rico Angelo Coloncito
United States Willie Giles MD6 United States Dave Russell
United States Billy Bello DRAW Puerto Rico Andy Figueroa

References

  1. ↑ "Boxing changed forever when one man fought to the death -- on live television". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  2. ↑ UPI (24 Mar 1962). "Griffith, Paret Box For Title". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6A. Retrieved 2017-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ AP (25 Mar 1962). "Paret, Griffith Throw Words at Weigh-In Ceremony: 'Nasty Remarks' Exchanged". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ McRae, Donald (2015-09-10). "The night boxer Emile Griffith answered gay taunts with a deadly cortege of punches". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  5. ↑ UPI (December 24, 1963). "TV Drops Fight Game". The Times Herald. p. 9. Retrieved 2017-05-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "BoxRec - event". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
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