Emile Griffith vs Luis Manuel Rodriguez II

"Emile Griffith of New York, blazing away with left hooks and straight rights, won a March shot at the welterweight crown Saturday night on an upset split 10 round decision over top contender Luis Rodriguez. It was the greatest victory in Griffith's career, for Rodriguez had twice beaten Benny (Kid) Paret in Havana, before Paret became world champion. It was a close fight, marred by much clinching, in which Griffith did most of the forcing against Rodriguez, who kept stabbing at Griffith with long left jabs and hammering him in the body." -United Press International

Emile Griffith vs Luis Manuel Rodriguez 

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Emile Griffith III

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Holly Mims

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Luis Federico Thompson

"Welterweight contender Luis Rodriguez of Cuba almost clinched a September shot at the welterweight crown Saturday night by scoring a TKO over middleweight Yama Bahama in the 3rd round of their return television fight at St. Nicholas Arena. Bahama was bleeding so profusely from a one inch gash in the middle of his forehead and from a cut at the corner of his left eye that Dr. Harry Kleiman asked referee Arthur Mercaante to stop the scheduled 10 round bout at the end of the 3rd round. And Mercante did. Luis gashed Bahama's forehead with a right-left combination in the 1st round and the blood began to run down into Yama's eye. Bahama kept pawing at his eye the rest of the bout. Yama was cut at the corner of the left eye in the 3rd round by a glancing right. In that session, Rodriguez knocked him back on his heels three times with a left hook, a left-right, and a left hook. In the dressing room Yama said both cuts were caused by punches and that he had not been butted, as some observers thought." -United Press International

Emile Griffith vs Luis Manuel Rodriguez II

Emile Griffith vs Luis Manuel Rodriguez

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Emile Griffith III

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Holly Mims

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Luis Federico Thompson

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Yama Bahama II

Luis Manuel Rodriguez vs Yama Bahama

On this Day