RUBIN "HURRICANE" CARTER - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: EMILE GRIFFITH - HFSID 275247

RUBIN CARTER and EMILE GRIFFITH
Autographed 15¾x19¾ photograph of Carter and Griffith in their 1963 fight, which Carter won by a TKO, ranking him a #3 contender to face Joey Giardello for the World Middleweight Championship
Photograph signed: "Rubin Hurricane Carter" and "Emile Griffith". B/w, 15¾x19¾. Carter and Griffith faced off on December 20, 1963 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Carter, who fought six times in 1963, losing two fights, won the fight on a TKO. Flooring Griffith twice in the first round, Carter became the #3 ranked contender to face Joey Giardello for the World Middleweight title. RUBIN "HURRICANE" CARTER (1937-2014), whose career boxing record was 27-12 (19 KOs) earned a shot at the title with his TKO of former and future champion Emile Griffith in December 1963. He would lose the title bout to Giardello in December 1964 in a 15-round decision. After six more fights in 1965, things went abruptly wrong for "Hurricane" Carter. On June 17, 1966, two men and a woman were murdered at a New Jersey bar, and on October 14, 1967, Carter and John Artis were arrested for the murders. These convictions were overturned in 1976, but Carter and Artis were convicted in a retrial that same year. Again, the decisions were appealed, with US District and Circuit Courts tossing out the convictions again on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct (1985). Carter's story, popularized in a ballad by Bob Dylan in 1975, was the subject of the 1999 film, The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington. EMILE ALPHONSE GRIFFITH (1938-2013) was matched against Benny "Kid" Paret for his first welterweight title at Miami Beach on April 1, 1961, and he won with a knockout in the 13th round. When Griffith fought for the world middleweight title on April 25, 1966, against Dick Tiger, he won a 15-round decision, becoming the third fighter to hold both the welterweight and middleweight championships. Griffith used foot and hand speed to throw a lot of short, quick punches and combinations, but he often seemed to lose his concentration and focus, even during important fights. Ironically, Griffith was often accused of lacking the "killer instinct". He won 85 professional fights, 23 by knockout, and lost 25, two by knockout. Griffith's record also includes two draws and one no-contest. Image slightly grainy. Minor surface creases (not evident head on). Fine condition.