Ring of Fire (Emile Griffith Story)


T

THAMES

Active Member
This is a another must see for fight fans. I remember reading that this Boxing match was described as a legal murder.


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Emile Griffith

Tragic Story of Black Boxer Emile Griffith Explored in Cable Documentary
Date: Monday, April 18, 2005
By: Michael H. Cottman and Associated Press


Forty-three years ago, inside New York?s Madison Square Garden, black boxer Emile Griffith slugged it out with Benny "Kid" Paret moments after Paret taunted Griffith using the incendiary word ?maricon? -? Spanish for ?faggot.?

During a violent assault in the ring, while millions watched on television, Griffith pounded Paret, a 24-year-old Cuban exile, into a coma. Paret died 10 days after the bout, leaving Griffith -? and the sport of boxing ?- changed forever. ......



Read the Story ...
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/griffith419
 
Thames...

Sports Illustrated has a great article on Emile Griffith in the most recent issue (the one with Tiger Woods on the cover for winning his fourth Masters). I've read it and it's very interesting about his life and the inferred ambiguity of his life and lifestyle..He's 65 now and suffers from dementia.
 



I saw a tape of the fight a few years ago on ESPN Classic. It was BRUTAL. Griffith hurt Paret and trapped him on a corner post. Somehow Paret couldn't (not wouldn't) fall. I guess the corner post was holding him up. Griffith had to have hit Paret with about 30 straight power punches. It was reminiscent of one of the cartoons where one character punches the other back up after he slumps down. And the ref just stood there and let Paret take that beating.
 
Robber said:
I saw a tape of the fight a few years ago on ESPN Classic. It was BRUTAL. Griffith hurt Paret and trapped him on a corner post. Somehow Paret couldn't (not wouldn't) fall. I guess the corner post was holding him up. Griffith had to have hit Paret with about 30 straight power punches. It was reminiscent of one of the cartoons where one character punches the other back up after he slumps down. And the ref just stood there and let Paret take that beating.
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Hey Robber..........
I saw this fight when it was initially on TV on the Gillette Fight of the week with Don Dunphy(usually from Madison Square Garden). This was a big thing the late 50's early 60's (The Gillette Fight of The Week). All the men and boys from my immediate neighborhood would gather at the home of someone who had a TV. Yes, it was Black & white. There were very few shows or events on TV that broardcast in color(and besides there was no one who had a color TV that my father knew)

Supposedly, Benny 'Kid" Paret's manager forced him to eat an enormous number of pancakes the day before the fight so the he could make the weight limit back then. It was brutal. The ref did nothing to stop the fight. All the men kept saying that his manager should throw in the towel to stop that fight. He never did and 'Kid' Paret never regained consiousness. He died later.

If you ever get a chance to watch one fight from the late 50' - early 60's, watch any fight with 'Sugar Ray' Robinson especially the Carman Bascillio fight. Man, he was sweet( as in good and had great boxing moves with great punching ability).
 
I just finished watching Ring of Fire. It gave me a better understanding of just what happened and what led up to Kid Paret's tragic death. Griffith may have been the original downlow brother but he was one hell of an athlete. It was all good at the end of the movie when he met Kid Paret's adult son and the son forgave him.
 
STRAWDOG said:
If you ever get a chance to watch one fight from the late 50' - early 60's, watch any fight with 'Sugar Ray' Robinson especially the Carman Bascillio fight. Man, he was sweet( as in good and had great boxing moves with great punching ability).
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Straw, I have seen these fights dozens of times. Sugar Ray against Basillio, Gene Fullmer, Randy Turpin, Jake Lamotta and others. He was on the downside of his greatness by the time he fought most of these guys.

Back to Griffith. I heard he'd leave a fight and go to the nearest gay bar in his robe, trunks and flip flops.

I've seen an interview of Gil Clancy, his trainer, and Gil says that we was in a gym and saw Emile Griffith in there goofing off. He says he took one look at Griffith's physique and decided he could make the guy a champion.
 
Robber said:
Straw, I have seen these fights dozens of times. Sugar Ray against Basillio, Gene Fullmer, Randy Turpin, Jake Lamotta and others. He was on the downside of his greatness by the time he fought most of these guys.

Back to Griffith. I heard he'd leave a fight and go to the nearest gay bar in his robe, trunks and flip flops.

I've seen an interview of Gil Clancy, his trainer, and Gil says that we was in a gym and saw Emile Griffith in there goofing off. He says he took one look at Griffith's physique and decided he could make the guy a champion.
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Robber, I saw a little of the Emile Griffith story last night. We had no idea that he might be gay and that he was enduring taunts from the oposing corner and from fans calling him a f@ggot and other names. We just thought he was one heck of a prizefighter.

As for Walker Ray Robinson, I thought he still had a lot left in his tank punch wise even though father time was catching up with his legs because he did not dance as much.

But then surprise surprise............along comes this big, well conditioned athlete from Louisville, Ky that could dance, had one hellof-a KO punch and a jab that could send you to the hospital. He could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee...............................Cassius Clay....The 'Louisville Lip'.....now known as Muhammad ALi.

I know you don't remember seeing Mike Tyson on the ESPN fights of the week when he was fighting the likes of Caveman Lee and other 'tomato cans' of the week????

And do you remember 'BIG' John Tate(the former Knoxville city sanitation worker).......he was gonna be the next super heavyweight...........had his pivital fight in Knoxville(at UT stadium), Tn won thru 9 of 10 rounds..................and ended up getting knocked flat on his face in the 10th and final round.
 
STRAWDOG said:
Robber, I saw a little of the Emile Griffith story last night. We had no idea that he might be gay and that he was enduring taunts from the oposing corner and from fans calling him a f@ggot and other names. We just thought he was one heck of a prizefighter.

As for Walker Ray Robinson, I thought he still had a lot left in his tank punch wise even though father time was catching up with his legs because he did not dance as much.

But then surprise surprise............along comes this big, well conditioned athlete from Louisville, Ky that could dance, had one hellof-a KO punch and a jab that could send you to the hospital. He could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee...............................Cassius Clay....The 'Louisville Lip'.....now known as Muhammad ALi.

I know you don't remember seeing Mike Tyson on the ESPN fights of the week when he was fighting the likes of Caveman Lee and other 'tomato cans' of the week????

And do you remember 'BIG' John Tate(the former Knoxville city sanitation worker).......he was gonna be the next super heavyweight...........had his pivital fight in Knoxville(at UT stadium), Tn won thru 9 of 10 rounds..................and ended up getting knocked flat on his face in the 10th and final round.
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Straw,

I have been watching and reading up on boxing and boxers since I was about 7 years old. So, yes I did watch Tyson when he was ESPN in his early fights (said he'd never win the title. Shows what I knew). And I remember Big John Tate, too. That was the 15th and final round win Mike Weaver cold-cocked him. Weaver's only chance was to KO him. Back then, real men went 15.

And of course I remember the older Ali. Even at his advanced age, he was better than the young cats.
 
STRAWDOG said:
Robber, I saw a little of the Emile Griffith story last night. We had no idea that he might be gay and that he was enduring taunts from the oposing corner and from fans calling him a f@ggot and other names. We just thought he was one heck of a prizefighter.
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Dude, as soon as I saw an interview with Emile Griffith, I knew he was gay. So, hearing Paret call him a fag in Spanish didn't surprise me at all.
 
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