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Tragic Champions: Benny Paret


BoztheMadman

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The first champion to die after a fight where he was defending a world title was Benny Kid Paret. This Cuban welterweight was strong and durable, but that became his bane, because the main factor behind his demise was him having three tough fights in a short time span. There was however another important reason behind his death-an insult to his opponent, the great Emile Griffith, that inspired Griffith to deliver a more savage beating than he otherwise would have. 
 

Bernardo Paret was born on 14 March 1937 in Santa Clara, Cuba. As a child and adolescent, he cut sugar cane to make a living. He then started to box and turned professional in August 1955 and won his first 13 fights. He then lost to Rolando Rodriguez by KO2 on 22 October 1956. He avenged the loss on points on 6 April next year. He knocked out Rodriguez in 5 rounds in the rubbermatch. He then moved to USA in 1958 and in his first fight there he drew against Bobby Shell in a 6-rounder. He then beat Eddie Armstong by UD10 and Augustin Rosales by TKO8 before losing to the super slick Luis Rodriguez by SD10, all in 1958. Paret was not a very heavy hitter but was strong and durable and had accumulation power. 
 

In 1960, after drawing against Luis Federico Thompson in an eliminator for the world title, he got to fight for the title against Don Jordan on 27 May in Las Vegas. He was victorious after 15 rounds and was now the champ. After losing a non title fight by SD10 to Denny Moyer, he made his first defense against Thompson in a rematch on 10 December and won by UD15 once again. On 1 April 1961, he fought Emile Griffith in his second defense ans was knocked out in 13 rounds. He however reclaimed his title in a rematch on 30 September at Madison Square Garden and won by SD. He then did something unwise and challenged the world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer and on 9 December they fought in Las Vegas. Fullmer later stated he never beat up anyone so badly as Paret and he put him down three times in the tenth for the stoppage. 
 

Despite all that, Paret still signed for a third fight against Griffith only three months later, on 24 March 1962. Known as a cocky and flashy guy, Paret had a dislike of Griffith and had heard rumors of his bisexuality. At the prefight weight in he insulted Griffith in Spanish, calling him “maricon”, meaning gay or even more precisely, a queer. This made Griffith willing to fight him on spot. To add to insult, Paret hit Griffith lightly on the back. On that night of 24 March, at MSG, Griffith fought with a rage he never knew before. He was a happily married man and even though he would come out as bisexual many years later, back then it would mean the end of his career if it was confirmed. At the end of round six, Paret caught him with a long left hook which put Griffith down but he got up. The whole fight was marred with butts and other ugly tricks. Eventually, Griffith started taking over and in the 12th round he unleashed a brutal attack which left Paret dazed and out on his feet. The referee made it all worse by not stopping the fight then, but allowed Griffith to hit him with 29 more punches. In the end, he stepped in and waved it off as Paret collapsed onto the ropes. 
 

Griffith prayed for his recovery, but Benny Paret died on 3 April, only 25 years old. He left behind two sons, Benny Junior and Alberto. Several songs were written about his death, most famous one by Gil Turner in 1962, called “Benny Kid Paret”. The New York State athletic commission was heavily criticized and rightfully so, for allowing Paret to fight only 3 months after taking the worst beating of his life against Gene Fullmer. Much later, Griffith met with Benny Jr who told him he harbored no ill feelings towards him. Benny’s last fight was even turned into a jazz opera. It was the first high profile fight to end in a death and as such holds a special place in the sad annals of boxing. In hindsight, one can say words can cause so much harm, especially bad, malicious words. 
 

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