emile griffith

All you have to do is look at BoxRec. I have known Emile for about 25 to 30 years. I had the honor of introducing him at countless amount of boxing events. The last was the Ring 8 Christmas Party last December, where I was the MC. He was seating at the head table with Joe Frazier and many other former World Champions and myself.

His biggest wins were against Luis Rodriquez (3 times), Benny Kid Paret (twice), Dick Tiger (twice), Joey Archer (twice), Nino Benvenuti and Bennie Briscoe.

He fought more main events at Madison Square Garden then anyone in boxing history, he still holds the record for boxing the most Championship rounds then anyone in boxing history. Hopkins will most likely pass him when he fights Dawson.

I honestly never liked him when he was fighting, as my favorite fighter at that weight was Luis Rodriquez. Years after his career was over, I became pretty good friends with him and I told him about it. He said why, I said because I really didn't know you, But I do now, so when I watch the films of him boxing, I always root for you Emile.

Emile Griffith is not doing well these days, as he is in the hospital, but I will say this, I have known 1,000's of boxers, and boxing people in my life time and Emile Griffith might very well be the best boxing person I have ever might. He would always sign autographs for everyone, take pictures until the place was closed. He was especially wonderful with the kids. When his manager Howie Albert died, I was asked to give the Eulogy and Emile and Gil Claney attended. Earlier this year, I did another graveside Eulogy for Gil and Emile was unable to come because of his illness.

Emile was one of the most popular boxers we have ever had. As he is on his last legs, Joe Frazier has made several visits to his long time friend. Hopefully God sees fit to let him hand around a few more years.

 

Beyond what Henry has already offered, a viewing of the documentary, "Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story" would be a useful introduction, especially into how Gil Clancy molded him into a boxer. I felt there were interesting details not related to the Paret tragedy. I understand he's never been the same since getting bashed by thugs who ambushed him outside a bar in 1992. Is he suffering from boxing induced pugilistica dementia, or is it the after effects of that back alley beating which sent him spiraling down? (He seemed fine prior to that near murder.)

 

Yes, in several of my speeches on Emile, with Emile in attendance, I told the story about how he got jumped by those thugs and was hit by a baseball bat over and over again.

 

He does have pugilistic dementia and Parkinson.

 

Good performances against Benvenuti, Luis Rodriguez, Benny Peret (RIP), Ralph Dupas, Bennie Briscoe (I give him great credit for this since he was pretty much shot with tons of ringwear and Bennie was a absolute killer at this point) among others. I think his win over Tiger for the middleweight title is an atg feat that doesn't get mentioned enough.

He wasn't otherwordly gifted in any category but he had very good handspeed and footspeed, a really outstanding chin despite the Carter loss, and his conditioning never really let him down. But his best attribute was his intelligence in the ring along with good combination punching, and great hustle. He really knew how to out work a guy.

I don't know how weight drained he was against Napoles but regardless he got completely dissecated in that fight. I think that loss proves to a certain extent that Napoles while a really great atg welterweight could never really beat the absolute best like Robinson, Leonard, Napoles, and Gavilan at that weight. But he could win one or two out of three against pretty much anyone else.

Still I think his greatness is more in his accomplishments than in a head to head sense. Hope that helps.

 

Tiger I, Benvenuti II, Rodriguez III & IV.

In terms of action or quality of performance?

Best performances: Willie Toweel, Gaspar Ortega II, Yama Bahama.

Best action: Paret III, Archer I & II, Benvenuti I & II, Rodriguez IV.

Everything - he could do it all.

He could sometimes be lackadaisical in fights, and could allow opponents to tie him up and smother him on the inside (which was especially a problem against Rodriguez and Paret). I also felt he did have a bit of a tendency to lunge and telegraph his punches from outside, which may have left him open to short inside counters.

Quite a bit. His series with Archer, Tiger, Benvenuti, Rodriguez, Paret, Ortega, Monzon are all on film, plus his fights with Toweel, Jorge Fernandez, Kitten Hayward, Napoles, Bahama, Moyer, Don Fullmer, Jose Stable, and others.

 

Gil Clancy said Emile was the greatest of all welters. Better than Sugar Ray Robinson.
That seemed a bit loco of Gil.

 

hh,amen to what you say. I saw Emile fight in the Golden Gloves.He had the widest pair of shoulders for his weight. Always in shape for his bouts,and I recall his mom at ringside screaming support for Emile at his bouts. I recall vividly March, 1962 at the Concord Hotel, where he trained for his 2nd fight with Benny Paret,telling a few of us at a cocktail party,
that "Paret called me a bad name,and I will keel him when we fighht".
And unfortunately Paret did die in their match a few weeks later.Emile was a great fighter and always a gentleman. I have him over Floyd Mayweather
at their best. I hope he pulls through Henry...:hi:

 

Burt, Where do you rate Mayweather?

 

Elaborating on what others have said, Emile seems to have been a conditioning fanatic who actually enjoyed the training process. During his career, he was fully credited for the power of his punch, something severely underrated today due to his anemic knockout percentage. However, this was due to inherent temperament more than anything else, and I don't believe the Paret tragedy significantly reduced the number of stoppages he subsequently had. (Going into Paret III, Griff had just nine stoppage wins in 28 victories, and his knockout total was sure to be diluted further by improved competition as his career progressed anyway.) A true indicator of his power lies in the fact he was the first to put Tiger on the deck (over two years before Bob Foster nearly decapitated Dick), and he produced an outstanding conclusion in Paret I after Clancy slapped him to alertness between rounds, rousing him to action.

Should have knocked out Paret and retired Benny in their second match, but blew it with an apathetic performance which may have ultimately cost Paret his life. Having regained the WW Title, Benny then got the crap beaten out of him by Gene Fullmer before that disastrous rubber match with Griff.

As accomplished as he was, still very much of an underachiever due to his lack of aggression and underutilized power. Never much more than a true WW though, as currently classified by boxrec. Rubin Carter caught him cold, while he made amends for being stopped in 14 by Monzon by getting to the final bell in a rematch.

Given the disposition of a Duran or Robinson, may well have been a contender for the P4P #1 of the last 60 years. Dagge MD 15 Griffth would be interesting viewing. If that one had taken place on neutral turf instead of Berlin, might Emile have lifted Eckard's WBC LMW Title in September 1976? That was over 15 years after Griffith-Paret I, a comparable interval to the time lapse between Duran-Buchanan and Duran-Barkley.

Has a six foot wingspan, Listonian for a man 5'7" tall.

 

Griffith's best win was, IMO, the first Tiger fight, where outweighed by 10 lbs, he engineered an exceptionally smart, disciplined fight strategy, boxing and moving (the classic formula for beating Tiger), stopping periodically to land light but clean shots and then back to the plan...a surprise 9th round kd, and nearly another just before the bell..and and so it went, with great debate from those who would have rewarded Tiger's aggresion over Griffith's cleverer ringwork. I think griff deserved the fight and this fight made me a fan of Griffith from then on.

 

I wish there had been a rematch with Griffith and Carter. The second time around Griffith would have finessed Carter and taken a revenge decision. That first fight was a one time only fluke...it would have never happened again.

 

Where do I rate Mayweather ? One word. UNTESTED. In a 14 year career he has had 14 fights,averaging 3 bouts a year . He fights who he doesn't fear,and avoids the truly dangerous opponents. He has great reflexis,but would be overwhelmed by many top welterweights in recent history,such as Griffith,Luis Rodriguez,Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Duran etc. Floyd is a product of this very weak era,and is allowed to rest on his laurels, pick his opponents [see Manny P]. Were he to have fought in my era of the 1940s,
he would have had to fight so many tough cookies,as Ike Williams, Beau Jack, Robinson, Gavilan, Johnny Bratton,BERNARD DOCUSEN,etc,and
tackle these calibre fighters often,he would sooner or later be exposed.
Mayweather is a product of his age. Cheers R...