Have Emile Griffith and Mel Barker ever fought each other?

Yes. Emile Griffith and Mel Barker met once on April 27, 1959, and Emile Griffith won by UD.

Who has the better record, Griffith or Barker?

Emile Griffith is 85-24-2 and Mel Barker is 0-4 across the 4 bouts Kill The Body has tracked. Emile Griffith has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.

Who has more knockouts, Griffith or Barker?

Emile Griffith has 23 knockout wins and Mel Barker has 0. Emile Griffith has more.

Do Griffith and Barker have any common opponents?

Emile Griffith and Mel Barker share 2 common opponents: Ralph Dupas and Gaspar Ortega. Emile Griffith fared better against 2 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Griffith and Barker?

This comparison is drawn from 112 bouts tracked for Emile Griffith and 4 bouts tracked for Mel Barker. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Emile Griffith vs Mel Barker — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸UNITED STATES

Emile Griffith

Mel Barker

Emile Griffith (85-24-2) and Mel Barker (0-4 across 4 tracked bouts) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 2 common opponents.

Griffith

Wins23 KO · 27%

Losses

Draws112 tracked bouts

Barker

Tracked record

0–4

counted from 4 bouts Kill The Body has ingested

Heads up: at least one of these records is a tracked record — the wins and losses Kill The Body has ingested so far, not an independently verified career total. Treat the comparison as a read on the bouts we hold, not a settled ledger.

Head to Head

Griffith leads 1–0

Emile Griffith and Mel Barker have met 1 time; Griffith leads 1–0.
Met	1959Apr 27	Series
Emile GriffithFighter A	WWon	1–0W–L
Mel BarkerFighter B	LLost	0–1W–L
Result	UDGriffith vs Barker	1Meeting

Griffith vs Barker · Apr 27, 1959

The Numbers

Griffith 5 · Barker 1 of 6 measurable rows

GriffithEdge = longer wingBarker

Record^†: 85-24-2 (edge)0-4
Win %0–100%: 77.5% (edge)
0%
Wins by knockoutmax 23: 23 (edge)
0
KO ratenot comparable: 27.06%—
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^‡not comparable: 27%—
Times stopped^‡max 2: 2
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 14: 14 (edge)
0
Bouts per year^§max 5.8: 5.8 (edge)
0.6
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 112: 112
4

† One or both records are tracked, not career-verified. · ‡ Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · § Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Emile Griffith: 5′7″; Mel Barker: No height on file
Reachnot held: Emile Griffith: 72″; Mel Barker: No reach on file
Agenot held: Emile Griffith: Died aged 75; Mel Barker: No date of birth
Stance: Emile Griffith: Orthodox; Mel Barker: Not recorded

Emile Griffith left, Mel Barker right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Emile Griffith85 wins · from 112 tracked bouts

23 by KO/TKO 27%62 on the cards 73%

Mel Barker0 wins · from 4 tracked bouts

No tracked wins for Barker yet.

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Emile Griffith 112, Mel Barker 4 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

2 shared

2 shared · Griffith better on 22 shared · Emile Griffith better on 2

GriffithEmile Griffith

Opponent

BarkerMel Barker

Emile Griffith
2–0 against
Win, KO 3
1964Feb 1964
Win, UD
1962Jul 1962
DupasRalph DupasUnited States 106–23–6Griffith betterEmile Griffith better — 2–0 to 0–1
Mel Barker
Loss, UD
1959Aug 1959
Emile Griffith
2–0 against
Win, TKO 12
1961Jun 1961
Win, SD
1960Feb 1960
OrtegaGaspar OrtegaMexico 131–39–6 · Super Welterweight, WelterweightGriffith betterEmile Griffith better — 2–0 to 0–1
Mel Barker
Loss, MD
1962Nov 1962

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Emile Griffith has lost three straight, after two straight wins. Griffith last boxed on Jul 30, 1977.WWLLL

Reiche Dec 1976Elliott Feb 1977Bonnetaz Apr 1977Pennington Jul 1977Minter Jul 19775.8 tracked bouts per year

Mel Barker last boxed on Nov 15, 1962 — 23,349 days ago. Barker had lost four straight.LLLL

Akins Jan 1956Griffith Apr 1959Dupas Aug 1959Ortega Nov 19620.6 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Emile Griffith and Mel Barker ever fought each other?: Yes. Emile Griffith and Mel Barker met once on April 27, 1959, and Emile Griffith won by UD.
Who has the better record, Griffith or Barker?: Emile Griffith is 85-24-2 and Mel Barker is 0-4 across the 4 bouts Kill The Body has tracked. Emile Griffith has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.
Who has more knockouts, Griffith or Barker?: Emile Griffith has 23 knockout wins and Mel Barker has 0. Emile Griffith has more.
Do Griffith and Barker have any common opponents?: Emile Griffith and Mel Barker share 2 common opponents: Ralph Dupas and Gaspar Ortega. Emile Griffith fared better against 2 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Griffith and Barker?: This comparison is drawn from 112 bouts tracked for Emile Griffith and 4 bouts tracked for Mel Barker. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Compare someone else

6 suggested matchups

Compare Griffith with…

Compare Barker with…

Someone else?

Release either fighter to put someone new in that slot — the other one stays put.

Emile Griffith vs Mel Barker — record, stats and common opponents compared

Emile Griffith

Mel Barker