"NINE . TEN . AND OUT !" explores more than just the ring battles of a legendary champion.It takes us from a roped-off arena to a far larger battleground, that of life itself. Having fought 112 fights on five continents, the holder of six championship belts and appreciated as a warrior who took on all comers, Emile Griffith captivated the boxing world with his exciting style and a disarming personality. Enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a charter inductee, Emile Griffith's place in boxing history as one of the greatest prizefighters ever to climb into a ring is assured. However, Emile Griffith's toughest battle was waged without gloves and it was fought outside the ring. He battled ethereal demons and devils, and, at times, himself. It was an inner conflict, but a battle that he had to wage - a struggle to bring together two lives - both his. Emile Griffith did not choose his career as a prizefighter. It just happened and it all came so naturally that he accepted that this was his world. Nor did he choose his lifestyle, how he lived it or who he lived it with. It, too, came so naturally that he never questioned that this, also, was his world. However, there was always the apprehension that his two worlds were incompatible.