Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith
Griffith in 2010
Born
Emile Alphonse Griffith

February 3, 1938
DiedJuly 23, 2013(2013-07-23) (aged 75)
Statistics
Weight classWelterweight
Light middleweight
Middleweight
Height5 ft 6.5 in (169 cm)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights112
Wins85
Wins by KO23
Losses24
Draws2
No contests1

Emile Alphonse Griffith (February 3, 1938 – July 23, 2013) was an American professional boxer who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight,[1] undisputed welterweight,[2] and middleweight titles.[3] His best-known contest was a 1962 title match with Benny Paret. Griffith won the bout by knockout; Paret never recovered consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days later.[4]

In 1963 and 1964, Griffith was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. In 2002, he was listed #33 on Ring Magazine's list of 80 greatest fighters of the past 80 years.[5] Griffith currently ranks #127 in BoxRec's ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time.[6] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.[7]

  1. ^ "The Lineal Junior Middleweight Champions". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  2. ^ "The Lineal Welterweight Champs". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  3. ^ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  4. ^ "The night boxer Emile Griffith answered gay taunts with a deadly cortege of punches", theguardian.com; accessed January 30, 2016.
  5. ^ "Are These Really the 80 Best Boxers Ever?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "BoxRec: Ratings". boxrec.com.
  7. ^ "Boxing Hall of Fame names first inductees".