Benny Paret

Benny Paret was born Bernardo Paret in 1937 in Santa Clara, Cuba. He took up boxing as a Welterweight and fought 50 fights, winning 35 of them.

Paret won the World Welterweight title in the early nineteen sixties before defending it against Emile Griffith, who knocked him out in the thirteenth round. Paret won it back in a rematch and was knocked out by the middleweight Gene Fullmer only two months later. Although Paret had recently taken a lot of punishment, another contest with Griffith was booked for Madison Square Garden, New York, on Saturday, March 24th 1962. Paret nearly knocked out his opponent in the sixth round, but he was saved by the bell.

It was the twelfth round that was to cast a dark shadow over the world of boxing and the lives of those involved. The twelfth round seemed somewhat tame when Griffith backed Paret into a corner, unleashing a tremendous flurry of punches to Paret’s head. He became dazed by this and could not defend himself, but the referee allowed the fight to continue, with Griffith laying on the punches. Paret’s wife,  watching the fight on a television in a nearby hotel, was screaming at the screen for the fight to be stopped. After 29 consecutive punches, including Paret being knocked through the ropes, the referee finally stopped the fight. Paret collapsed in the corner and fell into a coma. He died ten days later from massive brain haemorrhaging.

This boxing match has been widely debated over time. One theory is that Paret died because he was vulnerable due to the beatings he took in his three previous fights that were so close together. There was also an allegation that Paret had angered Griffith with a personal insult at the weigh-in. The referee for not stopping the fight earlier never worked again. Another fatality a year later only added to the dark cloud over boxing as the question was also asked whether boxing should even be considered a sport? Griffith felt a sense of guilt about his part in the fight but may have got some comfort from meeting Paret’s son many years later, who embraced him and told him that he was forgiven.

Why did Benny Paret put himself through such energy-sapping fights to satisfy the appetite for entertainment before a noisy crowd, the quest for fame and wealth, together with the adoration of thousands that is so short-lived, often at significant personal cost? 

Sadly, it means nothing upon death. The Bible is clear about the reality of all this when it says, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’. This is a question for all of us. Benny Paret seemed totally committed to reaching such a goal despite the cost, for all the money he made could never repair the long-term damage to his body. 

God, who made us, knows that our ‘frame is as dust’. That is why we need Him, not for personal fame and fortune but as One who meets our greatest need for now and forever. 

The need is the significant problem of sin, that burden that keeps us from God and a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. The future is uncertain for us, just like it was for Benny Paret, who had no idea that his life would come so abruptly to an end, leaving a weeping wife and a son who he would never see grow up. The Bible commands us to repent of our sins and put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Will you take such a vital step before it is too late?

DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (06/09/24)

Written by RODERICK BARTON 

All photos are courtesy of Unsplash.