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Benny 'Kid' Paret Boxing...
Benny 'Kid' Paret Boxing...
Item # 576795
March 25, 1962
SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN, Springfield, Massachusetts, March 25, 1962
* Benny Paret's last fight (1st report)
* Welterwight World boxing championship
This 50+ page newspaper has two column headlines on the front page of the sport's section: "Griffith Halts Paret On 12th Round TKO" and "Comes Off Floor With Savage Two-Fisted Attack to Regain Welterweight Crown"
This tells of the championship boxing match between Benny Paret and Emile Griffith in which Paret would be extremely punished and die ten days later.
Other news of the day throughout. Light browning, otherwise in good condition.
wikipedia notes: Benny Paret's third fight against Emile Griffith occurred on March 24, 1962 at Madison Square Garden and was televised live by NBC. In round six Paret nearly knocked out Griffith with a multi punch combination but Griffith was saved by the bell. In the twelfth round of the fight, Griffith hit Paret twenty-nine times in a row, and eighteen times in six seconds, when Paret was lying against the ropes before referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight. Paret went into a coma after the fight, and died ten days later.
The last fight was the subject of controversies. It is theorized that one of the reasons Paret died was that he was vulnerable due to the beatings he took in his previous three fights. New York State boxing authorities were criticized for giving Paret clearance to fight just several months after he was knocked out by Gene Fullmer in his second to last bout. The actions of Paret at the weigh in before his final fight have come under scrutiny. It is alleged that Paret taunted Griffith by calling him Maricón (Spanish slang for "faggot"). Griffith wanted to fight Paret on the spot but was restrained. Allegations of homosexuality in 1962 were considered fatal to an athlete's career and a particularly grievous insult in the culture both fighters came from. The referee Ruby Goldstein, a respected veteran, came under criticism for not stopping the fight sooner. It has been argued that Goldstein hesitated because of Paret’s reputation of feigning injury and Griffith’s reputation as a poor finisher. Another theory is that Goldstein was afraid that Paret’s supporters would riot. The incident, combined with the death of Davey Moore a year later for a different injury in the ring, would cause debate as to whether boxing should be considered a sport. Boxing would not be televised on a regular basis again until the 1970’s. Goldstein would never be the referee for a fight again as a result of the controversy from this fight.
Category: The 20th Century
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