BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods) brings a highly anticipated production of his opera, Champion.Born in the Virgin Islands, Griffith moved to New York as a teen to find his birth mother, and eventually took up work for a hat manufacturer. On a particularly hot day, Griffith worked with his shirt off, which is when—believe it or not—the factory owner noticed his hulking physique and decided to take him to a trainer at a boxing gym!The opera’s first act details his rise to future welterweight champion, but it ends on—spoiler alert, we suppose, though this is very much a real story—his 1962 match against Benny Paret at Madison Square Garden, where Griffith beat his opponent so intensely that he was completely unconscious.
