“Many in the crowd of 7,500 were begging” the referee to intervene, The Times reported. There has been little overlap between the high drama of sports and the high drama of opera, beyond the bullfighting in “Carmen” or perhaps that odd singing competition in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” But in telling Griffith’s story, Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s 2013 opera “Champion,” which opened earlier this month at the Metropolitan Opera and streams live in movie theaters on Saturday, brings together the brutality of boxing with the soaring passions of opera.Īt the time, the biggest controversy was the referee’s delay in stopping the contest. The fight and its terrible aftermath were high drama. Paret never regained consciousness and died 10 days later. As The New York Times put it the next day, “The only reason Paret still was on his feet was that Griffith’s pile-driving fists were keeping him there, pinned against the post.” In the 12th round, Griffith knocked Paret into the ropes and pounded him with more than a dozen unanswered blows. Emile Griffith fought Benny Paret on March 24, 1962, in a highly anticipated welterweight championship bout at Madison Square Garden.
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