Benny paret gay

Emile Griffith pummeled Benny

Griffith wanted to fight Paret on the spot but was restrained. Griffith would come out as bisexual in his later years, but in allegations of homosexuality were considered fatal to an athlete's career and a particularly grievous insult in the culture both fighters came from. They've played basketball together in the neighborhood they share in the shadows of the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan.

Paret, 25, the sugarcane cutter from Cuba who carries his two-year-old. Paret's manager Manuel Alfaro called for a return bout and just prior to the rematch six months later, Paret hurled a derogatory homophobic slur toward Griffith, who many knew to be gay. What had begun as professional athletics quickly became a grudge match for the ages. The “opera in jazz,” as Blanchard describes it, is based on the extraordinary life of the late bisexual, Hall of Fame boxer Emile Griffith, who tragically beat Benny “Kid” Paret so badly in the.

At the weigh-in for the title fight, Emile heard his manager say “Hey, watch it!” Turning around, he caught his Cuban opponent pretending to fck him. Benny Paret then directed a homophobic slur at Emile, in Spanish. “Hey Maricón, I’m gonna get you and your husband.” Emile Griffith lost his temper but his manager separated the boxers. Editor's Note: As Benny Paret slumped into the corner, victim of more than 20 consecutive punches from new welterweight champion Emile Griffith, it was immediately obvious to thousands in the arena and millions watching at home that something was seriously wrong.

No one knew, however, that in the days to come both Paret and the sport itself would be fighting for their respective lives. Only one would emerge to fight another day. By Patrick Connor. In September of it had been 10 years since Madison Square Garden had hosted a fight which resulted in a ring death. For a venue that had become synonymous with boxing in New York City decades earlier and nudged the fights through their early television days, perhaps that was an impressive statistic.

Then Emile Griffith, who had just lost his welterweight title to Benny "Kid" Paret, made a declaration to reporters that would become gravely prophetic. But I would like to kill him. And I will, if he'll get back in the ring with me. Death has always been a part of boxing, a byproduct of that kind of intimate warfare since the 18th century, begrudgingly accepted by most.

The big change came with television, for prior to that death had always been far away and difficult to envision. It was the trilogy between Griffith and Paret that brought forth this graphic reality to the public. Paret wasn't just one of countless bums filling time and taking falls for the chosen few on television; he was a two-time welterweight champion and a resilient scrapper who had come from a childhood of working in Cuba's sugar cane fields.

Griffith was a soft-spoken hat designer who stumbled into boxing and didn't seem much like a fighter, but he halted Paret and took his title with a pair of left hooks in April of Paret's manager Manuel Alfaro called for a return bout and just prior to the rematch six months later, Paret hurled a derogatory homophobic slur toward Griffith, who many knew to be gay. What had begun as professional athletics quickly became a grudge match for the ages.

The split decision loss to Paret in their rematch marked Griffith's third as a professional and his response was to get back into the ring quickly and score three wins in as many months. Meanwhile Paret moved up to challenge middleweight titlist Gene Fullmer but was handed a frightful beating in a grueling fight as a reward for his bravery. Though he should have taken some time off, in that era boxers simply got on with the business of boxing.

Paret dreamed of opening a butcher shop. The rubbermatch with Griffith meant money towards that goal and a chance to defend the welterweight title. And that meant no rest for the weary and wounded. Griffith was again insulted at the weigh-in, again with a suggestion that he enjoyed the company of men, and this time had to be held back by trainer Gil Clancy.

He didn't know it, but Paret might have sealed his own fate then and there. Usually a classy, respectful sportsman, this second incident ignited something in Griffith, who won the first five rounds on all judges' cards. It might have been that lust for vengeance that slowed Griffith down and walked him into a trap in round six; seconds before the bell Griffith traded hooks with Paret while retreating and was dropped hard.

Griffith rose from the canvas and made it to the bell before seeking refuge in his corner. Somehow, however, Paret was unable to capitalize on the momentum. Griffith got back into the fight despite appearing fatigued and worse for wear, but Paret took round eight. The Cuban was threatening to take control when he was rocked in round nine, and round 10 offered an ominous preview of horror to come as Griffith battered Paret almost through the ropes.

It was brutal, but not quite enough to stop the gritty champion. The grim end came in round 12, as a pair of right hands rocked Paret and sent him into a corner. Griffith threw right uppercuts over and again until Paret's head swayed between the ropes and he became trapped.