Eder Jofre
Encyclopedia
Éder Jofre (ˈɛdeʁ ˈʒofɾi; born March 26, 1936) is a retired Brazil
ian boxer and former bantamweight
and featherweight
champion .
in Melbourne, Australia.
, Jofre, whose nicknames were "Galinho de ouro" (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 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 America
n 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 the mexican Octavio "Famoso" Gomez by a unanimous but controversial decision (120 x 110 by judge Antonio Di, 119 x 115 by judge Adriano Carollo and 117 x 116 by judge Américo Vieira) in São Paulo on October 8 of 1976. In this last fight, Jofre was slow and uncertain, and himself put in doubt the correcteness of the arbiters decision ("Digam o que disserem, eu não venci Famoso Gomez", in the Rio de Janeiro newspaper "O Globo").
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.
.
In 2003, he was 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.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian boxer and former bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
and featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
champion .
Amateur career
Jofre represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne, Australia.
Olympic Results
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Thein MyintThein MyintThein Myint born January 14, 1937 in Yangon) is a retired amateur boxer from Burma, who won the gold medal at the 1958 Asian Games in the men's bantamweight division. He represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956.-References:*...
(Burma) points - Lost to Claudio BarrientosClaudio BarrientosClaudio "Tripa" Barrientos was a Chilean boxer, who won the bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. A year earlier he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games. His nickname was Tripa...
(Chile) points
Pro career
A native of São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Jofre, whose nicknames were "Galinho de ouro" (The Golden Bantam) and "Jofrinho", made his professional debut on
March 23, 1957, beating Raul Lopez by knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
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 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 America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
debut, defeating top ranked challenger Jose Medel
José Medel
José Medel was a Mexican boxer in the Featherweight division...
by knockout in ten on August 16 at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Next, he defeated the power punching Ricardo Moreno
Ricardo Moreno
Ricardo Moreno Escamilla was a Mexican professional boxer in the Super Featherweight division. Moreno was ranked #76 on the The Ring's list of 100 All time Greatest Punchers....
(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 Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
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
Ramón Arias
Ramón Gines Arias Quinteros is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Defensor Sporting and the Uruguay U20 national team.-National:...
(in Caracas, Venezuela), Johnny Caldwell, Herman Marques, Jose Medel, Katsuyoshi Aoki (in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
), Johnny Jamito (in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
), and Bernardo Caraballo (in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
).
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
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
, 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
Julio César Chávez
Julio César Chávez is a retired Mexican professional boxer.He is a six-time world champion in three weight divisions, and for several years he was considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world...
.
On May 17, 1965, his streak as an undefeated fighter was broken when he lost to "Fighting Harada
Fighting Harada
Masahiko Harada , better known as Fighting Harada, is a former world boxing champion. He is currently the president of the Japanese boxing commission....
" by a fifteen round split decision in Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 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
José Legrá
Jose Legrá is a former professional boxer in the Featherweight division.Legrá is a former two time WBC World Featherweight Champion.-Professional career:...
for the WBC world Featherweight title, in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
. 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
Vicente Saldivar
Vicente Samuel Saldivar García was a Mexican boxer in the Featherweight division and was a part of the 1960 Mexican Olympic team. He was a former WBC and a two-time WBA Featherweight Champion...
of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 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 the mexican Octavio "Famoso" Gomez by a unanimous but controversial decision (120 x 110 by judge Antonio Di, 119 x 115 by judge Adriano Carollo and 117 x 116 by judge Américo Vieira) in São Paulo on October 8 of 1976. In this last fight, Jofre was slow and uncertain, and himself put in doubt the correcteness of the arbiters decision ("Digam o que disserem, eu não venci Famoso Gomez", in the Rio de Janeiro newspaper "O Globo").
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.
Boxing Trainer
Jofre has since dedicated himself to being a boxing trainer in Brazil. He also owns businesses such as supermarkets and others.Honors
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of FameInternational Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
.
In 2003, he was 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.