Éder Jofre
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| Éder Jofre | |
 |
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Éder Jofre |
| Nickname(s) | Galo de Ouro (Golden Rooster) Jofrinho (Lil' Jofre) |
| Rated at | Bantam Feather |
| Height | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Birth date | March 26, 1936 |
| Birth place | São Paulo, SP, Brazil |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 78 |
| Wins | 72 |
| Wins by KO | 50 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 4 |
| No contests | 0 |
Éder Jofre (born March 26, 1936) is a Brazilian former boxer, whom many consider to be the greatest bantamweight fighter of all time and one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters ever.
Contents |
[edit] Amateur Career
Jofre represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
[edit] Olympic Results
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Thein Myint (Burma) points
- Lost to Claudio Barrientos (Chile) points
[edit] Pro Career
A native of São Paulo, Jofre, whose nicknames were "The Golden Bantam" and "Jofrinho", made his professional debut on March 23, 1957, beating Raul Lopez by knockout in five rounds. He had a total of twelve fights in 1957, including two each against Lopez, Osvaldo Perez and Ernesto Miranda, against whom Jofre sustained his first two record stains: two ten round draws (ties).
He began 1958 by winning four more fights, and then, on May 14 of that year, he had his first fight abroad, drawing in ten rounds against Ruben Caceres in Montevideo, Uruguay. On November 14, Jose Smecca became the first and only man to drop Jofre in his career; Jofre got up from a first round knockdown to knock Smecca out in seven rounds.
Jofre won eight fights in 1959, including one against two time world title challenger Leo Espinoza, and a seventh round knockout in a rematch with Caceres.
On February 19, 1960, he fought Ernesto Miranda for the third time, this time with the South American Bantamweight title on the line. Jofre outpointed Miranda over fifteen rounds to win his first title as a professional. Jofre retained the title with a knockout in three rounds in a fourth fight with Miranda, and, after one more win, he made his American debut, defeating top ranked challenger Jose Medel by knockout in ten on August 16 at Los Angeles. Next, he defeated the power punching Ricardo Moreno (later ranked among boxing's all time best punchers by Ring Magazine), by a knockout in six.
On November 18 of that year, Jofre became world champion, when he knocked out the WBA world Bantamweight champion Eloy Sanchez in six rounds, at Los Angeles.
Jofre proved to be a busy world champion, fighting top notch fighters, both in title engagements and in non title fights. From 1960 to 1965, he retained his title against Piero Rollo, Ramon Arias (in Caracas, Venezuela), Johnny Caldwell, Herman Marques, Jose Medel, Katsuyoshi Aoki (in Tokyo), Johnny Jamito (in Manila), and Bernardo Caraballo (in Bogotá, Colombia).
In addition, he defeated such fighters as Billy Peacock, Sadao Yaoita and Fernando Soto in non title bouts. After the fight with Aoki, Jofre was also recognized as world Bantamweight champion by the WBC, therefore, becoming the undisputed world champion.
Up until his defense against Caraballo, Jofre had the record for the longest undefeated run in boxing history since the start of a career. This record would shortly after be broken by Nino Benvenuti and, much later on, by Julio César Chávez.
On May 17, 1965, his streak as an undefeated fighter was broken when he lost to "Fighting Harada" by a fifteen round split decision in Nagoya, Japan, to lose the world Bantamweight title. Harada was the only fighter ever to defeat Jofre as a professional.
After losing to Harada by unanimous decision at a rematch held in Tokyo on June 1, 1966, Jofre retired.
In 1969, he made a comeback, beating Rudy Corona by a knockout in six on August 26. After winning thirteen fights in a row, he challenged for a world title once again: on May 21, 1973, he fought Jose Legra for the WBC world Featherweight title, in Brasilia. Jofre became a two division world champion by defeating Legra with a fifteen round unanimous decision.
Despite having won his second world title, Jofre realized he was nearing the end of the road as far as his boxing career was concerned. He did defeat Frankie Crawford in a non title affair and defended his world Featherweight title against fellow former world Bantamweight champion, Vicente Saldivar of Mexico, in a "super fight" held at Salvador. He knocked Saldivar out in four rounds.
After a string of fights against lesser opponents, he retired, having beaten "Octavio Famoso Gomez" by a knockout in six on October 8 of 1976.
He had a record of 72-2-4 (50 KOs), making him a member of the exclusive group of boxers that has won 50 or more fights by knockout.
[edit] Boxing Trainer
Jofre has since dedicated himself to being a boxing trainer in Brazil. He also owns businesses such as supermarkets and others.
[edit] Honors
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
He is listed as #85 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
He is listed as #19 on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.
| Preceded by Jose Becerra Retired |
NBA Bantamweight Champion (later WBA) 18 Nov 1960– 18 May 1965 |
Succeeded by Fighting Harada |
| Preceded by Johnny Caldwell |
World Bantamweight Champion 18 Jan 1962– 18 May 1965 |
Succeeded by Fighting Harada |
| Preceded by Inaugural Champion |
WBC Bantamweight Champion 1963– 18 May 1965 |
Succeeded by Fighting Harada |
| Preceded by Jose Legra |
WBC Featherweight Champion 5 May 1973– 17 Jun 1974 Stripped |
Succeeded by Bobby Chacon |
[edit] See also
- Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time
- Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years
- List of WBA world champions
- List of WBC world champions
[edit] External links
