On March 24, 1962, Cuban welterweight champion Benny "Kid" Paret defended his title against Emile Griffith at Madison Square Garden in a bout televised live to millions on ABC. It was their third meeting in less than two years: Griffith had stopped Paret in 1961, while Paret had regained the championship by split decision later that year. The final fight came only three months after Paret had been knocked out by middleweight champion Gene Fullmer, and boxing authorities were criticized for allowing him to return so quickly after a series of punishing contests.
In the sixth round, Paret nearly stopped Griffith, but in the twelfth Griffith trapped him in a corner and launched a sustained assault. Paret was visibly dazed and unable to defend himself, yet referee Ruby Goldstein did not intervene until Griffith had landed 29 consecutive punches, driving Paret through the ropes. Paret collapsed in his corner, fell into a coma, and died ten days later, on April 3, at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan from massive brain hemorrhaging. Goldstein, previously regarded as one of boxing's most respected referees, was heavily criticized and effectively lost his career afterward. The tragedy intensified calls for medical oversight and raised fundamental questions about whether boxing could be considered an acceptable sport. It also damaged boxing's relationship with television; regular televised boxing largely disappeared until the 1970s. Griffith carried guilt over Paret's death for decades, though Paret's son publicly embraced and forgave him in the 2005 documentary Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story.
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