Rd II - difficult. Emile controlled distance and pace throughout most of it (and caught Dick coming in with a strafing shot that was probably the single best connect of the round), although when he decided to shift into high gear Tiger had a few moments of efficacy in the last minute or so. 20-18
Rd 3, Griffith starts off by jumping in with a dangerous lunging lead hook, then dipping low and backing out at an angle. Tiger economical to a fault but both his jab and head movement are improving, resulting in getting hit far less this frame (with the exception of the opening shot).
Tiger's worst fight ever, hands down. Though probably not surprising considering he was over 40 at this time, and a few months later was revealed to have liver cancer which ultimately killed him only a year later.
I actually thought this fight could've been a lot closer than the judges had it. Griffith lands most of the cleaner, eye-catching punches, without question, but they were often few and far between. In between, he wasted a lot of time just dancing and showboating, and I felt Tiger might've stolen some rounds just by being aggressive and letting his hands go.
Dick pretty much just waited for an opening that never presented itself (or the trigger mechanism was just broken). He always waited for spots but here it was just taken to the extreme. He probably clapped his gloves together more than he touched Emile with them.
Tiger looked like an old man in there and he was an old man at nearly 41 years of age. It's quite incredible that man with his style and the punishment he had taken was still competitive at that age (not to mention the liver cancer which might have already set in). A year previously he had decisively outpointed middleweight champ Nino Benvenuti.
