Apr. 3, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret, former welterweight boxing champion of the world, died at 1:55 a.m. this morning, 9 days and 3 hours after he had lost consciousness under a rain of blows in a bout at Madison Square Garden on March 24. The collapse of the 24-year-old Cuban in the 12th round of a match in which he lost his title to Emile Griffith had set off a state investigation and a clamor for a ban on prizefighting. Unconscious with two blood clots on his brain, Paret had held his own against long odds until yesterday, when pneumonia set in. At his bedside in Roosevelt Hospital when he died was his manager, Manuel Alfaro. His pregnant wife Lucy arrived an hour later. Her 2-year-old son, Benny Jr., was left with friends. The New York State Athletic Commission, in a report to Governor Rockefeller after the fight, absolved all officials concerned. The fight had been witnessed by a nationwide television audience. Many observers thought Paret had lost consciousness early in the final flurry, but was pinned against the corner of the ring and could not fall.
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