Emile Griffith (born February 3, 1938) is a former boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world championships in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He was the first boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands ever to become a world champion. While Griffith is recognized in some boxing books as being a three division world champion, his claim to the Junior Middleweight title was not generally recognised. February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called pugilism, Western Boxing, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists in...

Griffith, who turned professional in 1958 and fought frequently in New York, is best remembered for his televised third fight against Benny "the Kid" Paret on March 24, 1962. Fighting for the Welterweight title, Paret and Griffith boxed a close fight until round twelve, when Griffith knocked Paret unconscious, yet still propped up against the ropes. The referee failed to stop the fight, and Griffith struck Paret thirteen more times. Paret never regained consciousness and died nine days later. 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Benny Kid Paret, born Bernardo Paret (March 14, 1937 - April 3, 1962) was a Cuban welterweight boxer. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

This incident, and the widespread publicity and criticism of boxing which accompanied it, became the basis of the documentary Ring of Fire. NBC, 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. NBC, (Formerly an acronym for the National Broadcasting Company until 2004), is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Griffith was traumatized by Paret's death. Ironically, even before the fight, Griffith had never been known for having a hard punch or being vicious towards his opponents. Going into the fight, his record was 28-3 with only ten knockouts.

Sports Illustrated reported in its April 18, 2005 edition that Griffith, who may be homosexual, may have been fueled by rage over an anti-gay slur directed at him by Paret during the weigh-in. Paret reportedly called his opponent a maricon, the Spanish equivalent of "faggot" (the bottommost); Griffith nearly went after him on the spot and had to be restrained. The slur was ignored by the media at the time. The article pointed out that it would have been career suicide for an athlete or any other celebrity during the 1960s to admit that he was gay. The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Matthews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Griffith was not prosecuted for Paret's death. He later beat Dick Tiger for the Middleweight title. He also lost, regained and then lost the Middleweight title 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 gentle with his opponents and relying on his superior boxing skills because he was terrified of killing another in the ring. Like so many other fighters, Griffith fought well past his prime. He only won nine of his last twenty three fights. Richard Dick Tiger Ihetu (August 14, 1929 - December 14, 1971) was a boxer from Amaigbo, Orlu, Nigeria, was a migrant fighter to Liverpool (and later to America). ... Giovanni Benvenuti (born April 26, 1938), better known as Nino Benvenuti, is an Italian former boxer who is considered by many, including noted boxing writer Brian Doogan, to be the greatest boxer ever from Italy. ...

Other boxers he fought in his career were the world champions Denny Moyer, Luis Rodriguez, Carlos Monzon, Dick Tiger, Jose Napoles and in his last title try, 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. Luis Manuel Rodriguez (b. ... Carlos Monzon (August 7, 1942- January 8, 1995) was an Argentinian boxer who held the world middleweight title for 7 years, during which he made a then-division record of 14 defenses. ... Richard Dick Tiger Ihetu (August 14, 1929 - December 14, 1971) was a boxer from Amaigbo, Orlu, Nigeria, was a migrant fighter to Liverpool (and later to America). ... José Napoles (born April 13, 1940) is a Cuban-Mexican who was a world boxing champion. ... Knockout (also referred to as a K.O. or knock), is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai and others sports involving striking. ...

He has trained other boxers during his retirement, including Wilfredo Benitez and Juan Laporte, of Puerto Rico. Both have won world championships. Griffith, Monzon, Benvenuti, Rodriguez, Tiger, Napoles and Benitez are members of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Wilfred Benitez (born September 12, 1958), also known popularly as Wilfredo Benitez, is a Puerto Rican boxer. ... Juan Laporte (born November 24, 1959) is a former boxer who was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. ... The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta. ...

In 1992, Griffith was viciously beaten and almost killed on a New York City street, allegedly after leaving a gay bar. Today, Griffith requires fulltime care and suffers from pugilistic dementia. According to Sports Illustrated, the Alzheimer's-like condition makes him confused about his sexuality, and he sometimes declares himself to be heterosexual, other times he identifies as gay and other times, as bisexual, but one that prefers women. Griffith admits that he has had nightmares for forty years about the tragic bout and still feels tremendous guilt over the death of Benny Paret. In the last scene of Ring Of Fire, Griffith was introduced to Benny Paret's son. The son embraced the elderly fighter and told him he was forgiven. Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... For other uses, see Gay (disambiguation). ... Dementia pugilistica, also called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, pugilistic Parkinsons syndrome, boxers syndrome, and punch-drunk syndrome, is a neurological disorder which affects career boxers and others who receive multiple dazing blows to the head. ... Alzheimers disease (AD) or senile dementia of Alzheimers type is a neurodegenerative disease which results in a loss of mental functions due to the deterioration of brain tissue. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ...

See also

• List of male boxers
• List of WBC world champions
• List of undisputed boxing champions

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... List of WBC world champions is a table showing the world champions certificated by World Boxing Council (WBC). ... This is a list of current and past undisputed champions of boxing. ...

External links

• Emile Griffith's career boxing record