Emile Griffith

Emile Alphonse Griffith was born in Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Moving to New York City as a young man, Griffith worked in a women's garment mill in the Garment District. When the factory owner, former amateur boxer Howard Albert, noticed Griffith's remarkable physique while working in the summer heat, he took him to Gil Clancy at Gleason's Gym, launching his boxing career.

Winning the New York Golden Gloves in 1958, Griffith turned professional and won the world welterweight championship in April 1961 by knocking out Benny 'Kid' Paret. In their third meeting at Madison Square Garden on 24 March 1962, Paret directed homophobic slurs at Griffith at the weigh-in. During the fight, Griffith trapped Paret in the corner in the twelfth round, unleashing a furious flurry of punches before the referee intervened. Paret collapsed into a coma and died ten days later, a tragedy that haunted Griffith for the rest of his life and caused him to pull his punches in subsequent fights.

Despite his private grief, Griffith's remarkable technical skill, ring endurance, and stamina carried him to two reigns as world welterweight champion and two reigns as world middleweight champion, defeating hall-of-famers Dick Tiger, Nino Benvenuti, and Ralph Dupas. In later life, Griffith courageously spoke openly about his bisexuality, famously remarking: 'I kill a man and the world forgives me. I love a man, and the world hates me.' He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.