This month is the 49th anniversary of the fight between Emile Griffith and Benny Paret when Kid Paret was beaten to a pulp live on national television by his opponent. He subsequently died. The fight occurred on March 24, 1962.
The bout was the third match between Griffith and Paret, each having exchanged the title of Welterweight Champion. The give-and-take had led to ugly feelings when Paret, a Cuban, referred to Emile, a former garment district worker, as a “maricon,” attacking Griffith’s masculinity at a public weigh-in.
Sports experts attributed Griffith's growing anger at being disparaged as being at the root of his barrage of punches that led to Paret’s death.
Six years ago the story was the subject of an impressive documentary, entitled Ring of Fire. After viewing the film, college students of 2010 and 2011 are usually stoic to the sexual angle, and nearly all believe assumption of risk by boxers should allow the sport to continue with present regulations.
Emile won entrance into the International Boxing Hall of ...
Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Sports & Society
Article is property of BleacherReport.com