Emile Griffith, a six-time world champion boxer who was known for his vicious and fatal beating of Bennie (Kid) Paret and later for his frank and pioneering discussions of his own sexuality, died in his sleep early Tuesday, according to his friend and biographer, Ron Ross.
Griffith was 75 and had been in poor health, suffering from pugilistic dementia and kidney failure and residing in an extended care facility in Hempstead, L.I., Ross said.
He was the first fighter from the U.S. Virgin Islands to win a world title and headlined Madison Square Garden 23 times.
Griffith, who was beaten by a mob in 1992 after leaving a gay bar in New York, accelerating his dementia, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Griffith struggled with his sexuality, never openly admitting he was gay. But in later years, as renewed attention was paid to his deadly fight with Paret, notably in the 2005 documentary, “Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith story,” by filmmaker Dan Klores, Griffith seemed to gain a measure of confidence, even comfort from talking about his sexuality, admitting he had romantic liaisons with both men and women.
In doing so, Griffith became one of the first pro athletes in a male-driven sport to come out about his sexuality and surely one of the first boxers to do so. He was a forerunner to the current Puerto Rican featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz, who became the first active boxer to come out last year when he admitted he was gay.
“Emile was a wonderful person and he had nothing to hide,” said Ross, who wrote his 2005 biography, “Nine, Ten and Out! The Two Worlds of Emile Griffith.” “He was very open. He wasn’t a guy that would walk into a gay bar through the side door. He would go through the front door. There was no differentiation between gay and straight. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve been with men and women.’ But that was all. He didn’t like the word gay because he just didn’t feel it was an appropriate description for him.”
In a brutal sport, Griffith was the exception, known for his smile and courtly demeanor and his friendship with his opponents.
He was working at a hat factory in Manhattan when he was urged to box under the tutelage of trainer Gil Clancy after taking off his shirt and showing a muscular figure.
That reputation for courtesy and kindness all changed after he and Paret fought on March 24, 1962 at the Garden where, as legend had it, Paret uttered a gay slur to Griffith at the weigh-in, igniting Griffith’s fury. As Griffith banged away at Paret in the 12th round, referee Ruby Goldstein watched as Paret sagged against the ropes before finally stopping it. It was too late. Paret was carried out on a stretcher and died 10 days later.
Goldstein never worked again and Griffith seemed to be in a diminished state, lacking the ability to punish an opponent in the 15 years he fought after. He retired in 1977 with a record of 85-24-2 with 23 knockouts. His struggles were chronicled in “Ring of Fire,” where he met Paret’s son in the film’s final, dramatic scene.
“He was a lovely sweet man,” Klores said in a phone interview. “And tortured of course in the sense that had this secret life and yearning that he had to hide, but he was honorable and loyal and as a world champion I think he has to be mentioned in the same category as the Sugar Ray Leonards and the Roberto Durans.”
After his retirement, Griffith trained fighters including Juan Laporte and Wilfred Benitez and was a frequent presence at amateur and pro boxing events around New York, offering youngsters a smile and an autograph until he stopped making the rounds with his health failing. “Attention has to be paid because this was one of the great champions in the history of boxing and one of the best to ever come out of New York,” said promoter Lou DiBella, who published Ross’ biography of Griffith.
Bernard Hopkins, who holds the record for middleweight defenses with 20, called Griffith a “legend” on Tuesday during a Manhattan press conference for a boxing venture involving his Golden Boy Promotions.
But despite the presence of an openly gay boxer in Cruz and more athletes coming out in other sports, Hopkins doesn’t envision more boxers coming out. “I doubt it,” Hopkins said. “One thing is that it’s the nature of the sport. And second, I think that a lot of people will probably look at (an openly gay boxer) different. It will be a long time — not years but it will be a long time before we see the same effect that the basketball player did.”
And that makes what Griffith did — openly discussing his attraction to both men and women — all the more striking.
“His legacy in boxing is that he opened the doors to a much more transparent world where people are able to come through and be themselves,” Ross said. “He was a forerunner where other athletes are coming out today. Emile was the first person to be able to transcend those two worlds and bring it so that people could be themselves.”
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