Great career, but not what I would consider an elite all-timer. I'm sure the Paret death took away from his aggressiveness in later bouts. May Benny and Emile both RIP.
All time great!!! Great skill set and often fought fighters larger than him. Moved up in weight as his career progressed. For the record, the Carter KO had WW Emile, outweighed considerably, fighting a MW Carter who, at the weigh in, called him a p***y f****t. So much for the 'beloved' Hurricane who was guilty as hell. If you want to debate that, start another thread. The Paret death took a ton out of Emile (wouldn't it you?) His KO % plummeted after that. No one layed him out; even the 1st Monzon fight had him crouching and thru. In the rematch, many thought he'd done enough to win (not me by the way). He was over the hill at that time and STILL a force. Monzon said that Emile was the only fighter he'd ever fought that made him do things he did not want to do. And lastly, Griffith holds a record that will NEVER be broken: The most Championship rounds ever fought by a fighter, something like 380 or so. Drop the great Griffith into any era and you have a champion or a top contender. Repeat: ATG HOF fighter, nuff said.
I was going to start a thread asking this last week after watching a documentary on Griffith. You gave a great answer, and the fact that Emile went up in weight to beat Tiger highlights his class, in my opinion.
I agree. I was waiting for someone to make this thread. Griffith was great to watch. I've been watching some of his and his contemporaries' fights.
Always thought the Carter KO was just a freak result that wouldn't happen again if they'd fought another 20 times. He caught an underprepared Griffith cold. Griffith fought better fighters than Carter and no one else did that to him. Carter never beat another great fighter besides Griffith. Terrific fighter who faced some serious tough competition.
He was a great,...underrated great fighter. Griffith may not resonate with the "flash" loving crowd, but he was essentially, a highly skilled, master mechanic,..and for a guy who basically didn't enjoy fighting, he was a natural in that he could adapt very well to whatever style his opponents employed. He could outbox the sluggers and rough up the boxers...always intelligently and effectively. Griffith could be uninspired and erratic, but in most cases he acquitted himself very well in rematches. I believe that a kd scored against him by Nino Benvenuti in round 9 in their rubber match was the sole factor in him losing that bout. The fact that he was only stopped twice in his career speaks volumes...the ko loss to Carter was a fluke IMP, and would have been reversed had they rematched in'66...Carter would have been facing an entirely new, different Griffith than the one he starched originally....Emile would have outclassed him in a rematch. Griffith was brilliant in outboxing the 10 lbs heavier **** Tiger in 1966...rising all the way up from welterweight to fight one of the strongest middles of ring history,....not moving up a half step from a junior title to do so, as has been so common in boxing since then. He gave Monzon perhaps his toughest time as champion in their rematch, no so much physically, as in Briscoe or Valdez, but stylistically and skillfully. It must be said that Monzon had recently been shot by his unlucky wife at the time and the Argentine wasn't at his best, but Griffith's performance was excellent, nonetheless. Griffith was a specialist, ...like I said, a skilled master mechanic, who used his wiliness, great strength, and versatility to defeat many an opponent....and few were as adept at navigating the 15 round distance as he. Again, ...an overlooked, underrated, GREAT fighter.
....i agree with all of thee guys who write o highly about griffiith'. an all time great. i was always impressed by how he could use his left jab against taller opponents. he could have picked up some kind of title when he fought some german guy in germany. he won the fight but lost the decision..it wasn't a major title...i don't even remember what it was, but it would have been nice for him to have it on his resume´...
According to boxrec you are correct but Carter took Griffith completely out of his fight plan at the weigh in with his bigoted rhetoric. To be fair, Carter said he wanted to do something to take Griffith out of his comfort zone because he wanted him to come at him and take him out of his slick boxing zone. So the killer of innocent people had a viable game plan, good for him. Sorry but, as I said, anyone can start another thread if they feel Rubin Carter was an innocent man. Emile R.I.P. ATG!!!
Watch Emile Griffith-**** Tiger l,....a fight that kindled my interest in boxing many years ago....Griffith looks amazingly good in this one...decking Tiger for the first time in his career and at times looking the stronger of the two...amazing fight...and remember, this was a resurgent Tiger...he had regained the title from Joey Giardello in resounding fashion, and Griffith moves up al the way from welterweight and fought the best fight of his career. He should have shared Fighter of the Year honors with Ali IMO.
