Emile Griffith vs Benny Kid Paret 2

Benny “Kid” Paret regained the world welterweight championship from Emile Griffith by a split decision over 15 rounds at Madison Square Garden on September 30, 1961. The verdict brought a mixed reception from the crowd of 6,072, with cheers for the Cuban’s recovery of the title accompanied by considerable jeering from those who believed Griffith had done enough to retain it. There were no knockdowns, but it was a hard, closely contested fight in which Griffith landed the heavier blows and Paret answered with persistent activity.

The championship had changed hands between them six months earlier at Miami Beach. On that occasion Paret, then the defending champion, had been stopped in the 13th round after being dropped for the first time in his professional career. Griffith subsequently defended the title by stopping Gaspar Ortega in 12 rounds and entered the return as a strong favourite, quoted at between 3–1 and 7–2. Griffith weighed the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, while Paret came in at 146. Each boxer was guaranteed $25,000, together with a percentage of the live gate and the $60,000 television payment.

Paret began the return in his customary restless fashion. He moved continually, pressed forward and kept his hands working, seeking to prevent Griffith from settling into the measured rhythm which had served him so well in their first contest. Griffith was the cleaner and more forceful puncher. He generally obtained the greater effect when he found room for his combinations, but Paret remained close, crowded him and answered often enough to keep the rounds competitive. Much of the argument over the eventual decision arose from this contrast: Griffith’s punches carried the greater authority, while Paret supplied the greater quantity and maintained his attack from one round to the next.

The fighting became rough at close quarters. Heads came together repeatedly as both men moved forward, and referee Al Berl warned each boxer several times for butting. Neither man was penalised, and the contest continued at its close, wearing pace. Paret refused to give Griffith the clear target he wanted, shifting position and throwing whenever an opening appeared. Griffith nevertheless landed sufficiently often to mark the challenger’s face and appeared to many at ringside to be building a lead through the weight and accuracy of his punching.

By the end of the tenth round, Paret was showing plainly the effects of the champion’s blows. Both eyes were nearly closed, blood ran from a cut beneath the left eye, and there was another wound inside his lower lip. Yet his condition did not reduce his willingness to fight. Through the last five rounds, he continued moving and throwing punches, absorbing Griffith’s hardest returns without going down. Griffith sought to impose himself with the more damaging work, but Paret remained in front of him, answered in every session and finished the contest on his feet. His stamina and sustained activity were evidently decisive in the judgment of the two officials who voted for him.

Referee Berl scored the fight for Griffith by eight rounds to six, with one even. Judge Artie Aidala awarded Paret nine rounds to six, while Judge Tony Castellano had the Cuban ahead by eight rounds to six, with one even. Paret was consequently declared the winner by split decision and became the seventh boxer to regain the welterweight championship. The result was sufficiently close on the official cards, but it did not agree with the prevailing ringside opinion. A United Press International poll found 18 of 22 sportswriters in favour of Griffith, while another survey had nine reporters for Griffith and three for Paret. UPI’s own card was 8–7 for Griffith, although the Associated Press scored it 8–6–1 for Paret.

The dispute rested largely upon the value placed on the two men’s different kinds of work. Griffith had landed the harder punches and had inflicted nearly all the visible damage. Paret, however, had forced the pace, thrown freely in every round and continued to compete after his face had become badly swollen. Aidala and Castellano preferred that steady output; Berl and most of the press favoured Griffith’s cleaner, heavier blows. The estimated live gate was only $20,000, but those present had witnessed a determined recovery by Paret and a decision that left the championship unsettled. The result made a third contest inevitable. Six months later, the pair met again at the Garden, where Griffith recovered the title in circumstances that brought their rivalry to its tragic conclusion.

I’ve watched enough close fights to know the difference between activity and effective work, and I believe Emile Griffith deserved this decision. Benny Paret was always busy, always coming forward and always willing to make matters uncomfortable, but Griffith landed the cleaner, harder punches and caused nearly all the damage.

Their first meeting had established the attraction. Paret was the tough, awkward Cuban champion who refused to leave his opponent alone, while Griffith was the stronger and more technically accomplished boxer. Griffith had stopped him in the 13th round to take the title, then beaten Gaspar Ortega, so he entered the return as a heavy favourite. Paret’s determination made him popular, but determination alone should not win rounds.

By the final five sessions, Paret’s eyes were nearly closed, with blood coming from beneath the left eye and inside his mouth. He kept throwing, which clearly impressed judges Artie Aidala and Tony Castellano, but Griffith’s punches were doing the meaningful work. Both men were repeatedly warned for using their heads, so there was no moral advantage there either.

Referee Al Berl and most of the ringside press had Griffith ahead. I agree with them. Paret showed enormous courage and made every round competitive, but Griffith boxed the better fight. It was a poor decision that made a third meeting unavoidable, with consequences nobody could have foreseen.