Jose Napoles vs Emile Griffith

A right hand delivered in the third round put Emile Griffith on the floor for a count of five and gave an early measure of the task facing the former champion. Before 15,461 spectators at the Forum in Inglewood on 17 October 1969, José Nápoles was defending the world welterweight title against a man who had held championships at both welterweight and middleweight. Griffith rose and completed the full 15 rounds, but he could not recover the ground Nápoles took from him.

Nápoles had won the title from Curtis Cokes six months earlier and beaten him again in June. Griffith had given up the welterweight crown when he became middleweight champion in 1966 and was returning to the division in pursuit of another title. Both men made the 147-pound limit. The champion began the better of the two, his quicker hands and firmer punches allowing him to take the lead before the knockdown. As Griffith came forward in the third, Nápoles caught him with a right hand described at ringside as a bolo punch. Griffith later said the blow had put him down without seriously hurting him.

The distinction mattered little to the scoring. Griffith remained in the contest, but Nápoles continued to land the more effective punches and denied him a sustained recovery. From the sixth round, Griffith carried a badly bruised and swollen right cheekbone. He was still fit enough to fight on and made his strongest effort in the closing rounds, pressing the champion when he needed to narrow a substantial deficit. Nápoles retained the advantage in speed and punching strength and saw out the distance. A slight trickle of blood from his nose early in the final round was the only notable damage reported to the champion.

The decision was unanimous. Referee Dick Young scored it 11 rounds to 4 for Nápoles; judge John Thomas had it 11 to 3, and judge Rudy Jordan 9 to 4, with the unaccounted rounds even on the latter two cards. The Associated Press scored the fight 10 to 5 and United Press International 11 to 2, also for Nápoles. Griffith’s late work had earned him rounds, but it had not placed the result in doubt.

The gate was reported at $194,315, with purses of $80,000 for Nápoles and $40,000 for Griffith. Afterwards, Nápoles called Griffith perhaps the strongest opponent he had faced and said his intention had been to outbox him rather than seek a knockout. Griffith said he had been in excellent condition but had been unable to find his rhythm. His endurance kept him in the fight; Nápoles’ early lead and command of the exchanges kept the welterweight championship in his hands.

Emile Griffith had many boxing fans by this stage of his career. He had beaten Benny Paret and Luis Rodríguez, won the middleweight title, and proved he could think and work his way through hard fights. Nápoles had only taken the welterweight crown from Curtis Cokes that April, but anyone who watched him knew how well he picked his punches. This was a proper test for the new champion.

The third-round knockdown told me plenty. Griffith came forward, and Nápoles caught him with a right hand before he could make that advance count. Griffith got up and kept trying, even with his right cheekbone badly swollen from the sixth, but Nápoles was quicker to the opening and hit harder when he found it. That is difficult to solve over 15 rounds. Griffith’s late rally showed his pride and conditioning; it did not change who was doing the cleaner work.

I have heard people reduce this to Griffith being past his best. He was no longer the fighter who had first ruled the welterweights, but that gives Nápoles too little credit. The three officials had Nápoles comfortably ahead, and I agree with them. He beat a seasoned champion by doing the basics better: judging when Griffith would come in, meeting him with a punch, and keeping control when Griffith pressed late.