Emile Griffith vs Joey Archer

Emile Griffith retained the world middleweight championship by a majority decision over Joey Archer at Madison Square Garden on July 13, 1966, after a close 15-round contest in which the champion’s greater strength and two-handed punching narrowly prevailed over the challenger’s jab and movement. Griffith weighed 152 pounds, seven pounds less than Archer, and was making the first defence of the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council titles he had taken from Dick Tiger less than three months earlier. A crowd of 13,776 attended despite temperatures in New York reaching approximately 100 degrees. The gate totalled $102,242, with an additional $50,000 received for television rights. Griffith collected $60,750 from his percentage of the proceeds, while Archer boxed for a guaranteed $17,000.

Archer entered the ring as an experienced and accomplished contender rather than a challenger selected merely to provide the champion with a defence. He had defeated Dick Tiger over ten rounds in 1964 and had also beaten Rubin Carter, Denny Moyer and Holley Mims. In November 1965, he outpointed Sugar Ray Robinson in the final contest of Robinson’s career. Archer possessed an accurate left jab, good balance and sound legs, although he was not a heavy puncher and had stopped only eight opponents in 47 previous contests. Griffith, already a former multiple welterweight champion, had won the middleweight crown from Tiger on April 25. He was the shorter and lighter man, but had the advantage in physical strength, especially when he could move inside the challenger’s jab and work at close quarters.

Griffith took the initiative in the opening rounds. Archer attempted to establish his left hand, but he was more cautious than usual and spent too much time retreating towards the ropes. When the challenger remained at long range, his jab was the cleaner individual punch, yet Griffith was able to slip underneath it often enough to close the distance. Once inside, the champion struck with both hands, directing short hooks and combinations to Archer’s head and body. Archer took the punches well and remained composed, but his reluctance to commit to the right hand allowed Griffith to press without facing a serious threat of being stopped. Archer’s trainers, Freddie Brown and Whitey Bimstein, had prepared him to move and tie Griffith up when necessary, but the challenger sometimes found himself caught between his customary mobile style and an effort to stand his ground. He neither moved continuously enough to keep Griffith outside nor punched with sufficient authority to discourage the champion’s advances.

The contest became more evenly fought through the middle rounds. Archer began finding the target more regularly with the jab and occasionally followed it with a right hand, while Griffith continued to force the exchanges and land the heavier combinations. There were no knockdowns, and although the action was spirited, much of it consisted of each man attempting to impose a different distance. Archer wanted room in which to jab, turn and reset. Griffith sought to crowd him, bend beneath the left hand and make him fight from the ropes. The champion’s punches carried the greater force, but Archer’s cleaner work at range kept the scoring close. In the eighth round, Archer suffered a cut over the right eye. The challenger claimed that it had been caused by an accidental clash of heads, although the ringside account did not consider the cause obvious. The contest remained clean despite evident ill feelings between the men.

The injury affected Archer’s tactics during the rounds that followed. Concerned about the cut, he gave ground and protected the damaged eye, surrendering opportunities to score while Griffith continued to move forward. Griffith landed several solid left-right combinations to the head, and Archer’s face increasingly bore the marks of the contest. The challenger nevertheless remained steady and showed no physical signs of weakening. By the tenth, Griffith appeared to be tiring, and Archer began to increase his work. His jab became more effective, his feet carried him away from the ropes more quickly, and he was able to make the champion miss before answering. Griffith was still dangerous whenever he reached close range, but his attacks were less continuous than they had been during the opening half of the fight.

Archer continued his recovery in the later rounds and produced some of his best boxing after the twelfth. The thirteenth was among his strongest rounds. He moved with greater purpose, scored with the left and prevented Griffith from setting himself for sustained combinations. The challenger had retained enough strength to contest the closing stages, but his earlier caution and the rounds lost while protecting the cut had left him with little margin for error. Griffith, though tired, continued to press and made Archer work for every opening. The champion’s ability to evade enough of the jab to reach punching range remained a decisive feature of the contest. Archer landed his best right hand of the fight on Griffith’s jaw during the fourteenth round. It was a clean and forceful blow, but Griffith accepted it without going down and resumed his advance.

The fifteenth was fought with both men aware that the decision remained in doubt. Archer attempted to maintain the distance and score with straight punches, while Griffith sought to finish strongly enough to preserve his title. Neither man was able to establish a conclusive superiority or produce a knockdown. Griffith’s pressure and heavier combinations were set against Archer’s jab, movement and cleaner isolated blows. At the final bell, both remained on their feet, and the officials' disagreement reflected the closeness of the contest. Judge Artie Aidala awarded Griffith nine rounds and Archer five, with one even. Judge Al Berl scored eight rounds for Griffith and seven for Archer. Referee Johnny LoBianco had seven rounds for each man and one even, making his card a draw. Griffith therefore retained the championship by majority decision.

The verdict was supported by the Associated Press and The Ring magazine, both of which scored nine rounds to five for Griffith with one even. United Press International differed, awarding Archer eight rounds to six with one even. The division among experienced observers showed that Archer had come close, but the decision could not reasonably be described as indefensible. Griffith had controlled much of the early and middle work by slipping the jab and forcing Archer into exchanges at short range. Archer finished well and caused the champion difficulty in the closing rounds, but he had surrendered too much ground before doing so. His performance was sufficient to secure a second championship match with Griffith six months later, but on this night the champion’s strength, pressure and more varied attack provided the narrow difference.