[gatagato]

Benny "the Kid" Paret (March 14, 1937 – April 3, 1962), was born as Bernardo Paret in Santa Clara, Cuba. He was a Cuban welterweight boxer who won the world welterweight title twice in the early 1960s. He also vied for the world middleweight championship.

Paret's death was due to injuries sustained in a title defense against Emile Griffith. The fight was televised across the United States and the aftermath caused a major controversy.

The last fight between Paret and Griffith was the subject of many 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, all of which happened within twelve months of each other. New York State boxing authorities were criticized for giving Paret clearance to fight just several months after the Fullmer fight. 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 "******").Griffith wanted to fight Paret on the spot but was restrained. Griffith would come out as bisexual in his later years, but in 1962 allegations of homosexuality 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 1970s. The fight marked the end of Goldstein's long and respected career as a referee, as he was unable to find work after that.

The fight was the centerpiece of a 2005 documentary entitled Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story. At the end of the documentary Griffith who has harbored guilt over the incident over the years is introduced to Paret's son. The son embraced Griffith and told him he was forgiven.

[vagabond]

Good find, Gato!

[kellyhound]

Ref should have stopped the fight in an earlier stage imo.
Great find

[FunkPumpkin]

I don't remember seeing fighters so damn buff back in that day. Shame he died, but then again, feigning injury to get out of jam in a fight isn't very smart either. Remember that parable about the boy who cried wolf?

[gimlet]

"A tragedy like this can't help but shake the world of boxing to its very foundations.".

name that movie...

[gimlet]

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[Beloved]

Originally Posted by gimlet ↗

"A tragedy like this can't help but shake the world of boxing to its very foundations.".

name that movie...

Pulp Fiction?

[spudigitti]

Bloody good thread !!!

[DoubleZ1013]

Emile Griffith, the guy who fought him, was the subject of the 2007 (?) documentary "Ring of Fire". At the end, he meets Paret's son, who has no hard feelings about the tragedy (Paret's widow doesn't feel the same way obviously). If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

[DoubleZ1013]

Originally Posted by DoubleZ1013 ↗

Emile Griffith, the guy who fought him, was the subject of the 2007 (?) documentary "Ring of Fire". At the end, he meets Paret's son, who has no hard feelings about the tragedy (Paret's widow doesn't feel the same way obviously). If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

You know, it would help if I had read the post instead of excitedly typing the same thing that was listed above....carry on, everyone....