Griffith and Paret's third fight, which was nationally televised by ABC, occurred on March 24, 1962 at Madison Square Garden. Griffith had been incensed by an anti-gay slur directed at him by Paret during the weigh-in. Paret touched Griffith's buttocks and whispered into his opponent's ear ""maricón, maricón"", Spanish slang for "faggot". Griffith had worked in a women's hat factory, and at the time designed hats. Griffith had to be restrained from attacking Paret on the spot. The media at the time either ignored the slur or used euphemisms such as "anti-man". Griffith's girlfriend asked him about the incident saying "I didn't know about you being that way."