1960s Timeline

Mar. 31, 1962 - Middle-aged Archie Moore knocked out 25-year-old Alejandro Lavorante in 38 seconds of the 10th round last night in Los Angeles, and the exhausted Argentine heavyweight was carried from the ring on a stretcher. Moore gave Lavorante a boxing lesson for nine rounds of the scheduled ten-rounder. The crowd of 12,500 in the Sports Arena was hushed for a few minutes while Lavorante was apparently unconscious on the canvas. Lavorante was carried off but regained his s

Mar. 26, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret remains in a deep coma tonight in a special-care room at Roosevelt Hospital as a result of two acute brain hemorrhages and undetermined brain damage to nerve cells of his brain. At a news conference, one of his surgeons, Dr. John E. Crisp (pictured with an X-ray of Paret’s skull), called Paret’s condition “extremely grave.” Following brain surgery Sunday, a tube was inserted in his throat to ease breathing. The surgery consisted of four cuts

Mar. 26, 1962 - Madison Square Garden has been the scene of two fatal fights in its many years as a boxing arena. One of them caused as much of a stir as the finish of Saturday’s Benny (Kid) Paret-Emile Griffith fight, but for different reasons. That was the meeting of Primo Carnera, the giant boxer from Italy, and Ernie Schaaf on Feb. 10, 1933. The other victim in the Garden was Georgie Flores (left), who succumbed after a semi-final bout with Roger Donoghue (right) in 1951.

Mar. 26, 1962 - Welterweight champion Emile Griffith, two long days after his greatest triumph, is living in a nightmare. “They say, ‘How come a sweet little boy like you who designs hats can turn tiger and hurt a man’s brain,’” Griffith said today. “They’re trying to get me to say I wanted to kill Paret. All I wanted was to be champion again. I didn’t want to hurt him.” Griffith was encountered today in a little room on the third floor of the New York State Athletic Commissi

Mar. 25, 1962 - Ruby Goldstein, the referee during Emile Griffith’s brutal championship victory over Benny Paret Saturday night, responded to charges of negligence today. The referee was charged by Manuel Alfaro, Paret’s manager, with acting too slowly in halting the battle that sent Paret to Roosevelt Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Goldstein, a 56-year-old New Yorker who is considered one of the best in the business, stopped the fight at 2 minutes 9 second

Mar. 25, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret remains unconscious and in critical condition at Roosevelt Hospital this evening with brain injuries suffered when he lost the world welterweight title to Emile Griffith Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The 24-year-old Cuban boxer is being given little chance to survive. Paret underwent a three-hour brain operation early this morning to relieve pressure caused by blood clots on both sides of his head. Referee Ruby Goldstein is being c

Mar. 25, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret (pictured today in a coma), who lost his world welterweight boxing title to Emile Griffith last night, underwent brain surgery at Roosevelt Hospital early this morning. At 2 minutes 9 seconds of the 12th, Griffith backed Paret into a corner and unleashed a furious assault, punching faster than observers could count. The only reason Paret did not fall then was that Griffith’s pile-driving fists were keeping him pinned against a corner post of

Mar. 24, 1962 - Welterweight boxer Benny (Kid) Paret was taken by ambulance to Roosevelt Hospital after losing the championship to Emile Griffith at Madison Square Garden. Paret was knocked out in a savage attack in the 12th round and never regained consciousness. A member of the hospital staff described his chances for recovery as “poor.” Griffith ended the scheduled 15-round bout with a furious barrage of at least 20 punches as Paret was backed against the ropes. Referee Ru

Mar. 23, 1962 - Emile Griffith of New York will try to wrest the welterweight boxing title from Benny (Kid) Paret of Cuba tomorrow night in a scheduled 15-rounder at Madison Square Garden. The 25-year-old challenger is favored. The contest will be nationally televised starting at 10 p.m EST. In Miami Beach last spring, Griffith stopped Paret in the 13th round to capture the 147-pound crown. The Cuban regained it by a controversial split decision at the Garden last Sept. 30. G

Mar. 16, 1962 - Floyd Patterson will defend the heavyweight boxing title against Sonny Liston next summer. The two fighters signed a 10-page contract in New York today. It provides that the bout be held between June 18 and Sept. 30. “We’ve already received an offer of a million-dollar guarantee from Seattle,” said Tom Bolan, president of Championship Sports. “The other cities under consideration are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and Philadelphia.” Patterson today

Mar. 1, 1962 - “Turn of the Century Fights,” a group of film clips featuring boxing bouts of the late 1890s and early 1900s, will be televised by “Sunday Sports Spectacular” on CBS on March 11 at 2:30 p.m. Boxers to be seen include James J. Jeffries (left), Jack Johnson (right), Bob Fitzsimmons, Sam Langford, and Jim Corbett. #boxing #boxinglife #1960s #boxingtraining #boxinggloves #boxinghype #boxinggym #boxingnews #boxingfans #boxingfanatik #boxingcoach #boxingclub #boxingn

Feb. 28, 1962 - Cassius Clay of Louisville scored a technical knockout over Don Warner of Philadelphia in the fourth round of a scheduled ten-round bout tonight at Miami Beach Auditorium. “I would have let it go five, as I had predicted,” Clay said, “but he wouldn’t shake my hand. That made me mad.” Warner, 189 pounds, shook Clay, 195, in the third with a right to the chin and ran out of his corner when the bell rang for the fourth round. Unfortunately for Warner, he ran dire

Feb. 27, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret (left), the world welterweight champion, and Emile Griffith (right) of New York, former champion, today signed contracts for their third title fight at Madison Square Garden on March 24. Paret, from Cuba, and Griffith signed at the New York State Athletic Commission offices. Paret will receive a guarantee of $50,000 with the option of 40% from the gate and television. Griffith will get a $10,000 guarantee and a 20% option. #boxing #boxinglife

Feb. 18, 1962 - Ten rounds is a long way for a 41-year-old boxer to go against a target that fights back relentlessly. This was painfully obvious, especially to Sugar Ray Robinson, as he was beaten by young Denny Moyer at Madison Square Garden last night. The decision was unanimous. The 22-year-old Moyer thus avenged a setback administered by the former welterweight and middleweight champion at the Garden last Oct. 21. Moyer brought no extraordinary equipment for the task, me

Feb. 11, 1962 - Cassius Marcellus Clay punched with crisp efficiency last night and dispatched Sonny Banks of Detroit in a nationally televised heavyweight bout at Madison Square Garden. Just as the undefeated Clay had predicted, the end came in the fourth round of the scheduled 10-round contest. However, just before Referee Ruby Goldstein halted the match after 26 seconds of the fourth, Banks recorded a signal achievement. He sent his 20-year-old rival to the canvas for the

Feb. 9, 1962 - The New York State Athletic Commission stripped Archie Moore of his world light-heavyweight title today for failing to defend it. In his last defense, Moore outpointed Giulio Rinaldi in June 1961. Commission rules call for a titleholder to defend at least once every six months. Moore turned pro in 1936. He won the light-heavyweight title on Dec. 17, 1952, by outpointing Joey Maxim. The Athletic Commission today also directed Harold Johnson of Philadelphia, who

Feb. 7, 1962 - Burglary charges against Johnny Saxton (pictured in 1955 between Tony DeMarco and Carmen Basilio), twice welterweight boxing champion of the world, were dismissed today in Queens County Court after he had been declared “punch-drunk and legally insane” at the time of his arrest. District Attorney Frank D. O’Connor of Queens moved for the dismissal after studying a psychiatrist’s report. Defense counsel had contended that Saxton, 31 years old, had “been left penn

Feb. 6, 1962 - Cassius Clay (pictured with trainer Angelo Dundee), a 20-year-old heavyweight from Louisville, told a gathering of New York ring writers today: “Boxing is not as colorful as it was in the past. We need more guys to liven it up, and I think I can help.” Clay, unbeaten in 10 fights, has a command of words not usually associated with a boxer. He also has confidence. The 1960 Olympic light-heavyweight champion doesn’t believe in starting at the bottom. “I want the

Feb. 5, 1962 - Cassius Clay (right), an undefeated heavyweight from Louisville, has been chosen to fight Sonny Banks (left) of Detroit in a substitute ten-rounder at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Clay eagerly accepted the bout. “I’ll fight anybody from Floyd Patterson [the world champion] down to Sonny Liston or from Sonny Liston up,” he said today. Liston is regarded as the No. 1 challenger for Patterson’s crown. The 20-year-old Clay has scored seven knockouts in his

Jan. 22, 1962 - Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson (right) stated today that he would meet Sonny Liston (left) in defense of his heavyweight championship. He said he was not permitted to give the date of the proposed bout. Patterson, in an interview with Howard Cosell, said that he thought Liston “morally” deserved a shot at the title. He added: “Sometimes, many of us get off to a bad start. Liston has paid for his crimes. I met him at a boxing writers’ dinner and I think h