But his career was marred by a tragedy that effectively wiped boxing off of mainstream television: At a weigh-in between Griffith and Cuban fighter Benny Paret, Paret tried to get in his opponent’s head by calling him an anti-gay slur in Spanish. (In the opera, Clancy and Albert are condensed into the single character of Howie Albert.) Griffith was almost an instant star in the ring. But his physical strength caught the eye of his employer, Howie Albert, who was a former amateur boxer: Albert promptly whisked Griffith off to trainer Gil Clancy. Griffith, who grew up in the US Virgin Islands and moved to New York City as a teenager, never aspired to be a fighter. As Emile’s partner and caretaker, Luis, prepares him for an important meeting in the present day, the past that led here is revealed through several flashbacks. “Champion” introduces prizefighter Emile Griffith near the end of his life, suffering from dementia caused by years of blows to the head. That’s partially thanks to the opera’s themes, and the structure of its story, which is based on true events.
