“Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story” is a tale of violence, love and forgiveness, set within the media centric milieu of NYC in the 1960s.  Emile Griffith was a six-time world welter and middleweight champion.

During the late 50s and early 1960s, the ABC Television Network, in an effort to attract male viewers and to compete with their more established rivals, sought to create “event programming.”  The “Friday Night Fights” featured stars of the day: Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, Tiger Jones, Joey Giardello, Spider Webb, etc.  Soon, Griffith began a meteoric rise through the ranks and began pummeling one contender after another to set the stage for his first championship fight. Griffith won the title from Paret, only to lose it back in a rematch held at Madison Square Garden in late 1961.  The boxing world was awaiting the “rubbermatch,” scheduled for March 1962, also at MSG.  Many reporters labeled it “The Fight of the Decade.” ABC and its primary sponsor, Gillette, filled the arena with celebrities, media elite, politicians, former champions, and even gangsters.

However, the live television audience and packed arena were unaware of one pivotal moment.  During the afternoon weigh-in, Paret stood beside his challenger, a rival he used to play basketball with on the city streets, and whispered in his ear, “maricón,” the Spanish word for “faggot.”  Paret then pinched Griffith’s buttocks.  Humiliated, Griffith lunged at the Cuban champion.

Later that night, during the fight, Griffith trapped Paret in the bottom left hand corner of the ring and television screen, and battered him into unconsciousness.

Paret died ten days later.

“Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story” is the story of two champions whose lives were eerily similar and whose fate was sealed with a profound love for boxing that ultimately led them and their families down paths of unbearable suffering.

“Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and aired on USA Network® in April of the same year. Paramount Pictures along with Sony Pictures Entertainment have bought the remake rights.