have quit, but I didn’t know how to do anything else but fight.”

And fight he could.

Known for his overwhelming speed and slick style — certainly not his punching power — Griffith was a prodigy from the moment he stepped in Hall of Fame trainer Gil Clancy’s gym in Queens. Griffith had been working in a hat factory when, as the story goes, he took off his shirt on a hot day and the factory owner realized how strong he was.

Under the eye of Clancy, Griffith blossomed into a New York Golden Gloves champion and eventually turned professional. He easily defeated the likes of Florentino Fernandez and Luis Rodriguez during an era when it was common to fight every couple of weeks, quickly earning a welterweight title shot againstParet in 1961.

Griffith won the championship with a 13th-round knockout at the Garden before losing the belt to Paret in a rematch five months later.

After winning back the title during his controversial third fight with Paret — many believe Paret never should have been allowed in the ring after a brutal loss to Gene Fullmer three months earlier — Griffith would eventually move up to middleweight. He knocked down Dick Tiger for the first time in his career and claimed the title with a narrow but unanimous decision.

Griffith would go on to lose twice during a thrilling trilogy with Nino Benvenuti, his lone victory coming at Shea Stadium in 1967, and lost two bouts against the great middleweight Carlos Monzon. Griffith would finally retire in 1977 after losing