PaleyArchive ColorBars TopBanner2

RING OF FIRE: THE EMILE GRIFFITH STORY (TV)

Summary

This documentary features profiles boxer Emile Griffith and his fateful March 1962 fight with Benny "The Kid" Paret.

The program begins in 1960s New York City, where many immigrants discovered that, despite the rumors of the city's grandeur, wealth was elusive for most citizens. The departure of the Dodgers and Giants baseball teams, combined with low graduation rates, led many to embrace boxing, "the sport of the poor," as entertainment and a means of employment. Griffith, born in 1938 in St. Thomas, was hired as a delivery boy by Howie Albert, who soon noticed his teenage employee's impressive strength and sent him to local boxing trainer Gil Clancy. Despite Griffith's uncertainty about the violent sport, he soon developed a flair for boxing, particularly thanks to his exceptionally fast hands, and became a Golden Gloves champion. He used his earnings to bring his family members to America from the Virgin Islands one at a time, and his mother soon became his most vociferous ringside cheerleader.

Television, a relatively new invention, had a "community-building" effect as many friends and neighbors were able to watch the same programs, including the Friday-night fights, simultaneously. At the same time, Cuban-born Benny Paret met and married his wife Lucy and gained success for his "toughness" as a boxer and his ability to last many rounds without apparent exhaustion. He signed with amateur manager Manuel Alfaro, though Lucy notes that her husband was essentially illiterate and was easily convinced to sign an unfair contract. Clancy urged Griffith to develop a "killer instinct," and he won the welterweight title in April 1961 when he beat Paret by a knockout. He became a local celebrity, appearing on programs like "I've Got a Secret," though Paret reclaimed his title when he defeated Griffith by split decision in September 1961; "bad blood" began to simmer between the two fighters when Paret started calling him a "maricón," a derogatory Spanish term for homosexuals or otherwise "unmanly" individuals. Angered by the loss, Griffith trained hard for their third fight, though Clancy warned him not to take Paret's taunting bait at the weigh-in and risk disqualifying himself from the fight. The sports community was baffled by rumors of Griffith's homosexuality or bisexuality, as a gay athlete was regarded as "oxymoronical"; journalist Pete Hamill recalls New York Times writer Howard M. Tuckner's anger at his editors' decision to refer to Griffith as an "unman."

On March 24, 1962, Griffith and Paret had their third fight at Madison Square Garden, overseen by referee Ruby Goldstein, who was known for stopping fights "too early." Journalist Jimmy Breslin notes that Clancy told his fighter to "kill the bum," though Clancy denies using such literal terms. Lucy grows emotional as she describes seeing her husband collapse in the ring after a particularly brutal twelfth round. Paret's associates grew alarmed when he failed to get up, and Griffith attempted to answer reporters' questions about his flurry of punches, which writer Norman Mailer would later compare to "a baseball bat demolishing a pumpkin." The unconscious Paret was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, and the press quickly began to denounce the entire sport of boxing, suggesting that it was "too savage." Goldstein's son Herb described how his guilt-ridden father debated visiting the comatose Paret in the hospital; though Alfaro blamed Goldstein, many noted that Paret had been soundly defeated by Gene Fullmer, who outweighed him, in December 1961, making him more susceptible to serious damage in subsequent fights. Paret died ten days later on April 3, and Lucy explains that she had her husband buried in New York, rather than Cuba, as his mother wished. Lucy and her son Benny Jr. received little money for his burial services, and Griffith received a stream of racist hate mail from Paret's fans.

Despite many demands to "abolish" the sport, no new reforms were enacted in the wake of Paret's death, though the loss of many advertisers caused most boxing matches to be pulled from television. Griffith, traumatized by the event, had to be pushed to re-enter the ring, though he soon began winning more fights. Young Benny Jr. visited his father's old gym, though stated that the sport was "too rough." In the present, Griffith admits that he is afraid to meet the now-adult son of his rival. Griffith met wife Sadie in 1971 and proposed to her on the first date, though his ongoing struggles with his sexuality and his commitment to boxing caused him to deem her a "distraction" shortly after their wedding; she returned to St. Thomas while he remained in the U.S. As he aged, Griffith began to lose more fights and Clancy stepped in and convinced him to retire in 1977. He became a corrections officer at a youth house, where he befriended and eventually adopted young Luis Rodrigo. He later turned to training upcoming boxers. He continued visiting gay bars, stating that he cares more about "knowing right from wrong" than about labeling himself. He was beaten and severely injured in 1992 in a possibly homophobic attack that left him in the hospital for a month and permanently damaged his memory.

Sadie speculates that "part of him died" along with Paret, and Griffith admits to still having nightmares about the incident. He participates in a parade of noteworthy boxers and is cheered by a crowd of fans. Elsewhere, Lucy and Benny Jr. visit Paret's grave in the Bronx, with Lucy stating that she has never remarried. Griffith and Benny Jr. finally meet for the first time in Central Park, and both men grow emotional as Griffith apologizes for Paret's death. Benny Jr. assures him that there are "no hard feelings" between their families. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: USA
  • DATE: November 30, 2004 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:27:00
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:86076
  • GENRE: Documentary
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Biography; Boxing; African-American Collection - News/Talk/Docs; LGBT Collection
  • SERIES RUN: USA - TV, 2005
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Lewis Katz … Executive Producer
  • Larry Burday … Coordinating Producer
  • Ron Berger … Producer, Director
  • Dan Klores … Producer, Director
  • Jack Newfield … Co-Producer
  • Liza Burnett … Associate Producer
  • Adam Schiff … Associate Producer
  • Jake Bandman … Assistant Producer
  • Patricia Flannigan … Post Producer
  • Melissa Kirz … Post Producer
  • Sherman Foote … Music by
  • Emile Griffith … Interviewee
  • Pete Hamill … Interviewee
  • Howie Albert … Interviewee
  • Gil Clancy … Interviewee
  • Lucy Paret … Interviewee
  • Franklin Griffith … Interviewee
  • Herb Goldstein … Interviewee
  • Jimmy Breslin … Interviewee
  • Gene Fullmer … Interviewee
  • Benny Paret Jr. … Interviewee
  • Sadie Griffith … Interviewee
  • Luis Rodrigo Griffith … Interviewee
  • Manuel Alfaro
  • Ruby Goldstein
  • Norman Mailer
  • Benny Paret
  • Howard M. Tuckner