#emile griffith

[joeinct]

The Boxer, Emile Griffith, Photo by Ormond Gigli, 1957

[ifelllikeastar]

Emile Griffith was an American professional boxer who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight titles.

He is best known for his three fights with Benny Paret, which culminated in a bout where Paret tragically died from injuries sustained during the match.

Born Emile Alphonse Griffith on February 3, 1938 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and died on July 23, 2013 in Hempstead, New York at the age of 75.

[theanticool]

Nino Benvenuti vs Emile Griffith 1 - April 17, 1967

Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year from 1967.

The first in the trilogy between former middleweight champions Nino Benvenuti of Italy and Emile Griffith of the Virgin Islands. Both would win Fighter of the Year honors (Griffith twice) over the course of their careers and are considered two of the top 100-150 boxers the sport has ever seen, which is a huge honor. 

Nino Benvenuti was born into the Kingdom of Italy, in what is modern day Slovenia. Before ever going pro, he’d win an Olympic gold medal at the 1960 Olympic games in Rome. While he did mostly fight in Italy, his career brought him to the U.S. He’d headline cards at MSG and Shea Stadium. This was in that era when Bruno Sanmartino was a huge draw up and down the East Coast.

While he wasn’t open publicly about it til much later in life, Emile Griffith is also one of the few openly bisexual champions boxing has had. It was an open secret in the boxing world though. In fact, Benny “Kid” Paret called Griffith a “f*ggot” in Spanish ahead of their fight. Griffith would proceed to beat Paret so badly that he died 10 days after the fight was over from the injuries he sustained. On the incident, Griffith had this to say:

"I keep thinking how strange it is ... I kill a man and most people understand and forgive me. However, I love a man, and to so many people this is an unforgivable sin; this makes me an evil person. So, even though I never went to jail, I have been in prison almost all my life."

After boxing, he also tried his hand as a trainer working with fighters like Wilfred Benítez and Juan Laporte as well as the Danish national boxing team.

[transzilla]

Need a sub who is going to let me forcemasc him and kick his fucking ass like 80s rough trade style. Like some real neanderthal low IQ bdsm. Like I want to put him in the hospital. LMAO

You like a dom when it's one of your skinny fucking chainsmoking cis boys, like you honestly think you're hard because you let some skateboarder who can't lift a spare tire smack you around a little bit.

Your problem is that you're scared because you don't know what pain is. So believe me when I say I'm going to teach you what pain is.

I am literally on steroids and I do this shit for my own enjoyment.

Have you ever been hit in your liver? Like right on your ribs, a real body shot? It's like somebody lights you on fucking fire from the inside out and your whole body burns worse and worse by the millisecond. And you can taste it. Like I'm making you suck on some pennies. Lmao.

When your nose bleeds it will taste bad but you should be fine provided it doesn't obstruct your breathing. When your nose gets broken, that sinus fracture won't hurt right away from the adrenaline but as soon as it wears off it hurts like fucking hell and you can't touch it without it crunching or cracking around under your skin. You will feel nauseous and then fucking sick at the way your face breaks in ways you didn't know was possible, pieces of your inner cheekbone breaking and getting loose in your eye socket, the devil's own human anatomy lesson. When you get knocked out by getting punched in the face you think you're fine for the first half second but when the momentum catches up and your brain hits the other side of your skull in your head it's good night from there. And after you come to your face will be valentine's red and pink and swollen and nigh unrecognizable and from there is just going to turn so many pretty colors you'll look like a goddamn renaissance painting.

I'm going to make you scared that you're gonna die. And then you're gonna be scared that you might not.

You can complain, you can scream, you can beg, try to run, try to fight back, hold your hands up, there's honestly no point because you know you're going to take it and you know you like it because I say you will so you will. You're a faggot. There is something wrong with you. If you didn't come to me to try to fuck you would have just spent your time trying to run away from the first chucklefuck who knew how to fight and had a problem with you. You made it clear that this is how you accept love, so I will make you wear it on your face.

I am not going to afford you the ability to hide behind a mild, vanilla, effeminate or weak front. I am going to hurt you so badly your friends and your family and your significant other can't even bear to look at you without feeling your pain as badly as you felt it. They can't hold your perfect pretty girly face in their mind anymore, even after you eventually heal your nose has been bent into a new shape and the symmetry your teeth grew into has been rearranged into a haunted graveyard of broken and missing teeth like tombstones. And you can't exploit their safe conditional acceptance anymore. And you have to find a way to live as an ugly fucked up man when you can't get by looking pretty and doing nothing.

And idk maybe after I'll let you suck my dick a little bit.

[federer7]

Emille Griffiths. Madison Square Garden, 1957

Photo: Ormond Gigli

[jeanharlowshair]

Screenland Magazine, June 1929.

[viendiletto]

Nino Benvenuti: «Senza ricordi non c’è futuro»

Campione olimpico nel 1960, campione mondiale dei Pesi superwelter tra il 1965 e il 1966 e dei pesi medi dal 1967 al 1970, Giovanni (Nino) Benvenuti è stato uno dei migliori pugili italiani di tutti i tempi e il suo nome troneggia tra i grandi del pugilato internazionale. È entrato nell’immaginario collettivo in una notte di aprile nel 1967 quando 18 milioni di italiani seguirono la diretta del suo incontro con Emile Griffith al Madison Square Garden di New York. Di quel match che gli portò il titolo di campione mondiale dei pesi medi, ma anche dell’infanzia a Isola, dei primi passi nella boxe, del significato dell’essere pugili, del rapporto con gli avversari sul ring e di tanto altro Nino Benvenuti – insignito nel 2018 dalla Can comunale del premio Isola d’Istria –, parla in un’intervista esclusiva di Massimo Cutò pubblicata di recente sulla Voce di New York, che riproponiamo.

[...]

Chi è un pugile?

“Uno che cerca sé stesso sul ring. Uno che vuole superare i propri limiti come faceva Maiorca in fondo al mare o Messner in cima alla montagna. La sfida è quella: fai a pugni con un altro da te e guardi in fondo alla tua anima”.

Lei cosa ci ha visto?

“La mia terra d’origine, una verità che molti continuano a negare. La storia di un bambino nato nel 1938 a Isola d’Istria e costretto all’esilio con la famiglia. Addio alla casa, la vigna, l’adolescenza: tutto spazzato via con violenza, fra la rabbia muta e la disperazione di un popolo. Gente deportata, gettata viva nelle foibe, fucilata, lasciata marcire nei campi di concentramento jugoslavi”.

Una memoria sempre viva?

“Ho cercato di non smarrirla, per quanto doloroso fosse. Riaffiora in certe sere. Ti ritrovi solo e sale una paura irrazionale”.

Riesce a spiegare questo sentimento?

“Il passato non passa, resta lì nella testa e nel cuore. A volte mi sembra che stiano arrivando: Nino scappa, sono quelli dell’Ozna, la polizia politica di Tito viene a prenderti. Un incubo che mi tengo stretto perché senza ricordi non c’è futuro”.

Che cosa accadde in quei giorni?

“Isola d’Istria odora di acqua salata. È il sole sulla pelle. La nostra era una famiglia benestante, avevamo terra e barche, il vino e il pesce. Vivevamo in una palazzina di fronte al mare: papà Fernando, mamma Dora, i nonni, io, i tre fratelli e mia sorella. Siamo stati costretti a scappare da quel paradiso”.

Come andò?

“Mio fratello Eliano fu rapito e imprigionato dai poliziotti titini, colpevole di essere italiano. È tornato sette mesi dopo, un’ombra smagrita, restò in silenzio per giorni. Mia madre si ammalò per l’angoscia. È morta nel ‘56 di crepacuore: aveva 46 anni. Attorno si respirava il terrore delle persecuzioni. Un giorno vidi dalla finestra della cameretta un uomo in divisa sparare alla nostra cagnetta, così, per puro divertimento”.

Finché fuggiste?

“Riparammo a Trieste dove c’era la pescheria dei nonni. Fu uno strappo lacerante, fisico. Così la mia è diventata in un attimo l’Isola che non c’è. Non potevamo più vivere lì dove eravamo nati”.

[...]

Quant’è difficile invecchiare?

“Dentro mi sento trent’anni, non ho paura della morte. Sono allenato. Sul ring risolvevo i problemi con il mio sinistro, la vita è stata più complicata però ho poco da rimproverarmi. E ho ancora un desiderio”.

Quale?

“Vorrei che un giorno, quando sarà, le mie ceneri fossero sparse da soscojo. È lo scoglio di Isola d’Istria dove ho imparato a nuotare da bambino”.

Intervista di Massimo Cutò a Nino Benvenuti per La Voce di New York, 23 luglio 2022

[collectingall]

∀ Emile Griffith JSA Coa Autograph 8x10 Photo Hand Signed http://blog.collectingall.com/T4ZGnq 📌 shrsl.com/4fuj5 📌

[flo88thx]

Christmas Boxing Show le 20 décembre 1963 avec Emile Griffith et "Hurricane" Carter. Carter mettra le champion du monde Griffith au tapis par deux fois et gagna le combat par KO technique. En 1966, Carter est accusé de meurtre et emprisonné à tort jusqu'en 1988 où il sera libéré, et toutes les charges d'accusations abandonnées. Cette condamnation en 1966 inspira la chanson "Hurricane" de Bob Dylan.

Raphael. 24/12/2023

[runthepockets]

I don't be going to pride tbh I just do a bunch of drugs and drink and listen to Black Eyes and Limp Wrist and talk about Emile Griffith and Reggie Kray a bunch.

[fafaweng]

🖤♾⚫️ ❖ Happy Black History Month Opera： ___ ❶ Follow along throughout February as we highlight operas by Black composers. First up is Champion by Terence Blanchard. This groundbreaking piece combines the disciplines of opera and jazz and depicts the life of boxer Emile Griffith. Don't miss the Met Opera debut of Champion this spring! ____ ❷ The Central Park Five by Anthony Davis tells the true story of five teenagers wrongly accused of a crime, then sentenced to years in maximum security prisons. The opera's harrowing account of these convictions, incarcerations, and eventual exonerations remains a devastatingly relevant indictment of the racial injustices in America. ___ ❸ Troubled Island by William Grant Still portrays Jean Jacques Dessalines and the corruption of his leadership in the Haitian revolution. This work was the first grand opera composed by an African American to be produced by a major company - debuting at New York City Opera in 1949. ___ ❹ Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom by Nkeiru Okoye depicts the life of the legendary Underground Railroad conductor. Based on recent Tubman biographies, the story is told in the context of Tubman’s tight-knit family of lively characters. ___ ❺ Treemonisha by Scott Joplin takes place in 1884 on a former Texas slave plantation and tells the story of Treemonisha - a young freedwoman. Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1976 for this unique "ragtime opera." ___ ❻ Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Terence Blanchard follows Charles, a boy of "peculiar grace," as he finds his place in the world and heals from childhood trauma. The work made history in 2021 when it became the first opera by a Black composer to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera. ___ ❼ We close out our #BlackHistoryMonth features with X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X by Anthony Davis. Based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X, this work is set to make its Met Opera debut next season - don't miss it! ___ ✦ The Metropolitan Opera ᰽ The Metropolitan Opera Guild ► [ nk.bio/metopera / metopera.org ] ___ #BlackHistoryMonth #TheMetropolitanOpera #TheMetropolitanOperaGuild #MetOpera #MetOperaGuild （在 The Metropolitan Opera Guild） https://www.instagram.com/p/CpKx6ZRvE-d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[theanticool]

Ever since Loma accepted a fight with Kambosos next year a lot of people on Twitter have been debating his legacy. Some calling him an all-time great some calling him the most overrated boxer of all time. One person said he was one of the best talents he'd ever seen but his resume didn't reflect it. what do you think about Loma and how he should be remembered when he retires?

Sports fans on the whole are subject to hyperbole. And legacy is fickle. If we're being real accomplishments, while a prerequisite, they are not the end all be all.

I probably agree with the sentiment that Loma's resume does not reflect the level of talent he has but also that doesn't mean he didn't accomplish a lot.

Boxing has existed for over 100 years. Most of the best boxers of all time are long forgotten. Go through Ring Magazine's top 100 boxers of all time and then ask some random dude at a spots bar if they know who Emile Griffith, Tony Canzoneri, and Archie Moore are (all in the top ten btw). How about p4p talent like Junior Jones? or Frankie Randall, the first dude to beat Julio Cesar Chavez sr? Just being mentioned in the convo of like best 100-200 boxers of all time great is a testament to how good you are. Cause there have been a lot of fantastic fighters.

As for how he likely will be remembered, he's a 2x Olympic gold medalist and a 3 division world champion. He's got a unique style that is one of the most aesthetically pleasing styles of fighting in recent memory. I think that's good enough to be remembered fondly, especially as in the internet age where people are going to be clipping some of the visually stunning stuff he did and putting it on tiktok or whatever social media app comes next.

I also think it comes down to how your era is processed media-wise, if that makes sense. For example, the four kings era is remembered fondly in no small part because so many of the guys covering boxing today were kids then. So part of it is going to depend on who is covering the sport in 5, 10, 20, 30 years.

One of the big things being a basketball fan taught me is that part of being remembered when you're gone, is to never really leave. Podcasting, tv analyst, commentary, coaching, etc. You keep your name at the front of people's minds by just never leaving. And all four of those guys are still very much involved with boxing. They're at a lot of big fights, some are gym owners or promoters, or they're doing movies/tv appearances. And they talk to media. A lot. I know what Tommy Hearns thought about Spence-Crawford because he gave an interview about it. What Vasyl does when he stops boxing could have a big effect on his legacy too.

[bidotorg]

Remembering the late world champion boxer, who was always open about his bisexuality throughout his career, Emile Griffith.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Girl of Many Aliases Sentenced To Three Year Penitentiary Term,” Montreal Gazette. August 8, 1942. Page 13. --- "l wonder what you'd get around here if you robbed a bank?" half-tearful, half-defiant Isabel Smibert Griffiths, alias Loretta Eccleston, alias Agnes Rodgers, soliloquized yesterday morning as she was led away to start a three-year penitentiary sentence on 29 charges ol forgery, uttering forged documents, obtaining merchandise under false pretences and receiving stolen goods.

Obvious reason for her query was the three-year sentence Judge F. X. Lacoursiere had imposed after the 24-year-old woman had pleaded guilty to the 29th accusation that of receiving stolen articles worth $50, property of Elizabeth Wilkes, an Oakville, Ont. teacher who boarded at a Dorchester street west home while visiting in Montreal. 

Until it was explained to her that Judge Lacoursiere's sentence was to be served concurrently with the sentences she had received earlier from Judge Maurice Tetreau three years for each of the 18 charges of forgery and false pretences, six months for each of the stolen goods counts the woman could not understand how such a long term could be exacted for such a minor amount as $50. 

'She realizes the nature of her anti-social conduct and understands the consequences," Dr. Daniel Plouffe, Quebec Government alienist, reported after he had submitted the accused to the mental examination ordered by Judge Tetreau. 

Completely garbed in black, the woman hung her head throughout the long lecture Judge Tetreau delivered in his private chambers. Her request that the sentences date from the time of her detention was denied, but she was granted permission to use the telephone. She had regained her composure by the time she was brought back before Judge Lacoursiere and bandied words with court attendants at she was led away. 

During the course of a severe reprimand, Judge Tetreau emphasized that the Eccleston woman was liable to life imprisonment for her crimes. 

Taken into custody after she had obtained merchandise from an uptown departmental store by means of a false cheque, the woman found charges mounting up against her when municipal detectives took over the investigation begun by Insp. Emile Paquette and William Coady; of the Broderick Detective Service. The investigators were heartily congratulated by Judge Tetreau yesterday morning on their fine work. 

With a long police record behind her before she came here to operate, the woman admitted 19 separate charges of receiving stolen goods, the Crown being satisfied with the pleas and dropping tne accompanying charges of theft. 

The woman, among whose possessions were found several National Registration certificates, was originally charged with petty larceny in Buffalo, N.Y., six years ago. Since then she had been deported to Canada and convicted in Toronto on several charges of uttering forged documents.

[AL: Curiously, Ecclestone’s prison record does not indicate any previous convictions, despite the statement of the Gazette. She was 23, single, Anglo, from Hamilton, and had no job at time of conviction. Like all women sentenced to a federal term (2 years or more) she was sent to the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. She was convict #7027 there, and worked at sewing and cleaning. She was released December 1944, and went to Hamilton.]

[cagesidewrittings]

My rant on being closeted

Sometimes I find myself despising the fact that I like men. I like women too but sometimes I see a beautiful man and my imagination runs rampant with all the beautiful and dirty things I’d like to do with them.

I feel as if there is something wrong with me because I am not stereotypically gay. I don’t really act feminine. Quite the opposite, I lift weights and am one of the physically strongest people I know. I fight, matter of fact I will be fighting in a couple of months. I drive a muscle car. I love guns and I carry one myself. I come from a very masculine culture. With the women I have been with I’ve been very dominant. I love combat sports which are the most masculine there is like boxing, jiu jitsu, mma, etc and I train and fight in them. The only feminine thing I have is probably skin care and sometimes I grow my hair long.

My problem isn’t with strangers or even most family members talking shit. I recently saw an episode in six feet under where they attacked a guy for being gay. I am not afraid of that for myself as I know I’m stronger than most, know how to fight, and have a gun. If anyone ever tries me for my sexuality I can handle myself. What I am scared of is disappointing a certain male family member. There are two that I care about, I know the woman will accept me but I don’t know about the man. Yes in theory I could destroy him in a fight but that’s not important to me. I really don’t wanna disappoint him.

Then there is the fight community. Every single person I’ve met in combat sports with the exception of two have some sort of problem with homosexuality on some level. I don’t want to be looked at by my coaches or teammates as some freak or an outcast. Like I am still that same guy you met I just sometimes like the company of men. I don’t like any of them so there isn’t nothing to worry about. However I know they’d look at me differently. I feel like I don’t really belong anywhere.

I love writing and theatre, but I also love lifting and fighting. I am torn between two worlds and feel like I don’t belong in neither, and that’s without even getting into ethnicity/heritage and nationality. I switch between masks constantly as to not expose myself. I feel like a fucking mistake. Why the fuck couldn’t I just be part of one world or the other. Why couldn’t I be straight or just not into fighting cause fuck I love it. I love my sexuality too. I don’t wanna let go of either part of me, but I feel like I lose myself constantly.

I just wish I was normal instead of having to express myself to strangers cause I have no one.

Type of timing I’m on fr fr #gofuckyourself I’d put you to sleep if you say some homophobic shit to me in real life and not hide behind a screen pussy

A big inspiration for me is Emile Griffith. He was a pro boxer who was bisexual, sort of an open secret. He fought a guy named “The Kid” Perez who called him a faggot before they fought. Emile killed him in the ring and that’s how I look to carry myself, I want to be strong and dangerous for if the day ever comes where I have to fight to exist because of my sexuality, I will be the one that gets to walk away and not some bigot ass pussy bitch.