July 13, 1962 - Emile Griffith retained his world welterweight boxing title by winning a unanimous 15-round decision over Ralph Dupas in Las Vegas. It was a strong performance by the powerful young Virgin Islands native in his first bout since his controversial knockout victory over Benny (Kid) Paret last March 24 in Madison Square Garden. Paret died 10 days after the fight without regaining consciousness. There were no knockdowns tonight, but Griffith almost floored Dupas in the 15th with a hard right. Dupas needed all of his boxing skill to slip punches and tie up Griffith. But he weathered the storm and finished the fight on his feet, to the cheers of the 3,610 fans in Convention Center. As the fight ended, Ralph somehow summoned a last burst of energy and delivered a series of body blows that brought the crowd to its feet.
