Mar. 25, 1962 - Benny (Kid) Paret (pictured today in a coma), who lost his world welterweight boxing title to Emile Griffith last night, underwent brain surgery at Roosevelt Hospital early this morning. At 2 minutes 9 seconds of the 12th, Griffith backed Paret into a corner and unleashed a furious assault, punching faster than observers could count. The only reason Paret did not fall then was that Griffith’s pile-driving fists were keeping him pinned against a corner post of the ring. When the referee finally intervened, he had great difficulty restraining Griffith but finally pulled him away as Paret slid slowly down the ropes and to the canvas. Before Paret left the Garden, the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church were administered. At the hospital, Dr. Lawrence Schick, a neurosurgeon, performed surgery to relieve pressure on the brain. A different doctor at the hospital said Paret’s chances of recovery were “poor.” Griffith was among those in the hospital’s waiting room. He said: “I’m sorry it happened. I hope everything is being done for him.”
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