Emile Griffith: In Appreciation – Remembering a True Boxing Legend

By Ian “The Boxing Historian” Murphy

A week ago today, it was the second anniversary of the death of boxing immortal Emile Griffith. Many know him mostly for being the man who killed rival Benny “Kid” Paret in the ring back in 1962. What most people fail to realize is that Griffith was truly one of the best boxers ever to put on the gloves. His resume is, frankly, astounding. From 1960-1977, Emile fought numerous Hall of Famers and multiple world champions. Some of them, (like Nino Benvenuti and Joey Archer) Griffith fought grueling trilogies with. He competed (and won World Titles) at Welterweight and Middleweight, fighting every fighter of note in those classes. Griffith himself was an inaugural member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1990 along with greats like Muhammad Ali, Willie Pep, and his former foes Carlos Monzon and Jose Napoles. Another rival, Dick Tiger, made it in the following year. This just reinforces the strength of Griffith’s competition.

It is borderline criminal that today that a lot of boxing fans mention Floyd Mayweather, JR as an All Time Great, (and that he is among the best ever) and fail to acknowledge someone as skilled and accomplished as Emile Griffith. I have expressed my thoughts and feelings on Mayweather’s merits elsewhere, but I think it is fairly obvious to an educated boxing fan that the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions during Griffith’s era were among the deepest and most competitive in the history of the sport. There is a reason that there were more than a half-dozen Hall of Fame Welterweight and Middleweight Champions constantly fighting each other for those belts: no one reigned for long due to the fact that the competition was so stiff. The top 10 in each class were absolute monsters. Some of the men who did not win the belt in the 1960s and 1970s definitely would have in subsequent eras. Contenders (when that term was legit and meant something) like “Bad” Bennie Briscoe and Ruben “Hurricane” Carter gave the greats of their era tough fights and were just a notch below world beaters like Griffith, Monzon, Benvenuti and Tiger.

In addition to being a great fighter, Emile Griffth was also a world class trainer. He guided the careers of Hall of Famer Wilfredo Gomez and Featherweight champion Juan Laporte. He also was an accomplished amateur instructor, assisting the Danish National Team as well as coaching many local champions in New Jersey. Griffith’s legacy should be much more than just a footnote in history. Modern fans should take advantage of today’s technology and study up on Griffith because they just might see a few things that aren’t being done today in the ring and perhaps doing so could give them a better perspective. Griffith needs to be remembered for his consummate professionalism and incredible skill instead of just as a participant in an awful tragedy.

RIP Champ….

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