SLIDING DOORS

BOXING’S best rivalry of the 1960s was the series of fights between Emile Griffith and Nino Benvenuti. Within the space of a year they boxed three times, all in New York, with the world middleweight championship on the line each time. All three went the 15-round distance, both were dropped twice.

The legacies and reputations of Griffith and Benvenuti were greatly elevated by those contests. But the rivalry was in danger of never really getting started. Griffith, after rising from the canvas in the second round of their initial contest on April 17, 1967 at Madison Square, delivered a thunderbolt, flooring Benvenuti with a right in the fourth that hurt him badly. Nino floundered around the ring in desperate trouble, but Griffith, by his own account, went right-hand crazy and failed to finish the job. But what if he had? It is fascinating to speculate on that and other close calls that would have altered the course of boxing history…

BENVENUTI ESCAPES

ALTHOUGH Benvenuti was voted the outstanding boxer of the 1960 Olympic Games and held the European title, he was largely unknown in America.

What we do know is that Benvenuti survived the heavy knockdown to lift the middleweight title from Griffith by scores of 10-5 twice and 9-6, to become one of the biggest stars in the sport.

Griffith regained the title by majority decision at Shea Stadium (scored 9-5-1 twice and 7-7-1) the following September. Then on March 4, 1968, they shared headline duties with Joe Frazier-Buster Mathis to open up the new Madison Square Garden arena. Benvenuti floored Griffith in the ninth, then held on for the last three rounds as the Virgin Islander staged a furious rally that closed the gap, but came up just short