Even at one win to one, these
magnificent fighters were
weighing in for their third bout. Paret showed
absolute hatred for Griffith by putting his arm around his
foe and
proudly declaring, "maricón." Griffith found out later this was Spanish slang for
homosexual.
During the
fight, Griffith had Paret
backed into a corner and slugged him with 18
devestating punches before he backed up to allow Paret room to
fall. Paret instead came right off the
ropes,
Ali style, and dropped Griffith with a huge right.
Needless to say, Griffith's trainer
scolded him badly for backing off before the
referee interfered.
In the 12th round, Griffith had Paret in the exact same
position. He
beat Paret mercilessly until the referee draged him away, still swinging. Paret never regained
conciousness and died within 10 days.