There has been a lot of discussion in Ireland this week about dangers of combat sport. Though the savagery of MMA has been under the magnifying lens, the sport of boxing knows much more about fighters dying in the ring. One of the most famous examples of death in the squared circle came in 1962, when Benny 'Kid' Paret died from the injuries sustained from a fight with Emile Griffith.
The fight is an interesting contrast to the fight that killed Joao Carvalho in Dublin. One happened in the National Stadium and was captured by one photographer. The other happened in Madison Square Garden and was broadcast on national television in America, at a time when boxing was the one of the biggest sports in the country. Griffith, a gay man, fought (and killed) Paret days after Peret called him a 'maricon', a gay slur, at the weigh-in.
Griffith's story was told in a recent book by Donald McRae. It was also captured in a documentary by Dan Klores. Griffith features heavily in this documentary, as do Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and Gil Clancy. This documentary tells one of more memorable and disturbing stories in sport - how one man came to kill another in a boxing ring.
