Emile Griffith

Emile Griffith was born on February 3, 1938 in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands as Emile Alphonse Griffith.

Griffith defeated Benny Paret, called "Kid", for the world welterweight championship on 1 April 1961. He lost the September 30 rematch by a split decision. They fought again on 24 March 1962. Griffith won by TKO when referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the fight in the 12th round. Paret collapsed in his corner of the ring and lapsed into a coma. He died 10 days later on 3 April 1962.

He is known for his work on Super Fight II (1974), Fight of the Week (1960) and Out in Manhattan (2008). He was married to Sadie Griffith.

He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 1992, Griffith was severely beaten by five teenage thugs after leaving a gay bar near Port Authority Bus Terminal, in the Times Square area (Manhattan, New York City). Heavily injured, he somehow got off the pavement, took the subway to Queens where his cries and moans awakened Luis Rodrigo Griffith, his lover and "adopted son," asleep in their basement enclave. He was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital where he spent four months. The injuries sustained in the assault where: broken ribs, jaw and spleen; brain damage, compounded by more than 200 prizefights, was severe; and his kidneys were damaged so badly that he was near death. The assailants were never caught. The incident started a sharp decline in his health as he struggled with pugilistic dementia and required full-time care late in life.