Eder Jofre
Titles: Bantamweight champion 1961-1965, WBC featherweight champion
1973-1974
Record: 72-2-4
Born: April 26, 1936 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Years active: 1957-1976
Nickname: None
If only Eder Jofre had fought more in the United States! The lucky people who did
watch Jofre perform live say he was the equal of Sugar Ray Robinson and had the kind
of boxing instincts that only come along once in a generation. But unfortunately
Jofre only fought in the USA 3 times, still he is recognized by the hard core fans
of the sport as one of the 10 best fighters of all-time. Consider this, when The Ring
magazine had to chose a fighter to grace the cover it's 500th anniversary issue
they chose Jofre over everyone else. Jofre in the ring simply lacked nothing! He had
it all long arms, speed, balance, stamina, knockout power in both hands and he also
had something else which very few had....a successful comeback. Eder would use those
long arms to search out weaknesses and box, waiting for the right moment to drop
one of his big right hands down on his opponents. Jofre the first Brazilian to win
a world title was also a devout vegetarian which makes one wonder where he got all
his energy from? Another odd fact is that Jofre's mother was a professional wrestler!
While his Argentine born father was a lightweight boxer of some note in Brazil. Jofre
began to box as a pro on his 21st birthday after loosing in the 1956 Sydney Olympic
quarter finals. As a pro Jofre was soon storming through the bantamweight division
and won the South American bantamweight title in his third year as a pro. He defeated
Ernesto Miranda who had previously held the less experienced Jofre to two disputed
draws over 15 rounds. To prove his superiority he knocked out Miranda in 3 rounds to
end any speculations. Wins over notable boxers such as Danny Kid and Joe Medel paved
the way to a N.B.A title. Jofre would win the title by knocking out the dangerous
Eloy Sanchez in the sixth round to win the N.B.A version of the world title. It was
a classic one two punch that put Sanchez away. This was one of the few times Jofre
traveled to the USA to fight. Jofre always claimed he would fight best if stayed
among his Brazilian people. When he returned to Brazil a crowd of 1000,000 people
lined the roads to congratulate him. Jofre a man of the people insisted that the
parade route also run through the slums of Sao Paulo not just downtown. A win over
Piero Rollo in 9 rounds further strengthened his claim to being the best in the
world. If that win did not then the 10 consecutive knockouts that followed surely
would. Jofre won universal recognition as champion when he defeated John Caldwell
in 1962, in front of 18,000 fans in his hometown. Caldwell a tough but limited
Irishman who was undefeated in 25 fights lasted 10 one sided rounds before folding
under the power of Jofre. Willie Pep who refereed the fight, stopped it when it was
obvious Caldwell did not have the power left to defend himself. On his return to
New York City Pep raved off the performance that Jofre gave to friends and to Nate
Fleischer the publisher of The Ring magazine. 5 straight title defenses by
knockout over good opposition followed. Like many of the smaller fighter Jofre
battled the scales as much as his opponents, it is ironic he would loose his title
to a man who had equal troubles with weight. It was Fighting Harada who was the
first and only man to defeat Jofre in a foul laden bout in Tokyo. Jofre who had to
loose 2 pounds the day of the fight and still insists the low blows and headbutts
were what cost him his title. Also Harada was allowed to hold on many occasions and
press his opponent into the ropes. Jofre did not dispute a second loss to Harada
however in the rematch. Harada was simply to strong for Jofre and was one of the
few men who could take his punches and manage to pin the elusive Jofre on the ropes.
The second loss to Harada gave Jofre reason to retire, but like many he felt he
needed to comeback. In 1969 the 33 year old Jofre began one of the most incredible
boxing comebacks of all time as a featherweight and few gave him any chance of
wining. 14 (of his 25 successful comeback fights) consecutive wins earned Jofre now
37 a title shot against the very good Jose Legra for the WBC featherweight title.
It was a close fight but everyone felt Jofre had earned the decision in every aspect.
His first defense was more impressive than his title win when you consider the
opposition and the result. The great Vincente Saldivar was doing well when one right
hand blow send him to the canvas in the 4th round and counted out. Jofre dedicated
the win to his dying father. The following year Jofre was stripped of his title when
he did not defend against the number 1 contender Alfredo Marcano of Venezuela and
retired following the sudden death of his brother. Jofre was now 40 years old and had
not lost in 25 comeback fights. In retirement Jofre became the mayor of San Paulo,
one of the most populated cities in the world. When making a list of the best boxers
of all time sadly Jofre is too often ignored from the American dominated media types.
Eder Jofre
Career Record: 72 W, 2 L, 4 D (50 K.O's)
1957
Mar 26 Raul Lopez Sao Paulo KO 5
Apr 23 Raul Lopez Sao Paulo KO 3
May 5 Osvaldo Perez Sao Paulo KO 10
Jun 7 Osvaldo Perez Sao Paulo KO 2
Jun 14 Juan C. Gonzalez Sao Paulo KO 5
Jul 5 Raul Jaime Sao Paulo W 10
Jul 19 Raul Jaime Sao Paulo W 10
Aug 16 Ernesto Miranda Sao Paulo D 10
Sep 6 Ernesto Miranda Sao Paulo D 10
Oct 30 Luis Jimenez Sao Paulo KO 8
Dec 13 Adolfo Pendas Sao Paulo W 10
Dec 22 Cristobal Gabisans Rio de Janeiro W 10
1958
Jan 24 Avelino Romero Sao Paulo KO 2
Mar 7 Cristobal Gabisans Sao Paulo KO 6
Apr 13 German Escudero Sao Paulo KO 2
Apr 27 German Escudero Rio de Janeiro KO 2
May 14 Ruben Caceres Montevideo, Uruguay D 10
Jul 10 Juan Carlos Acebal Sao Paulo KO 2
Aug 9 Roberto Olmedo Sao Paulo KO 5
Sep 12 Jose Casas Sao Paulo W 10
Oct 10 Jose Casas Sao Paulo KO 5
Nov 14 Jose Smecca Sao Paulo KO 7
Dec 12 Roberto Castro Sao Paulo KO 2
1959
Mar 23 Aniceto Pereyra Sao Paulo W 10
Apr 20 Sal Suarez Sao Paulo KO 4
Jun 4 Leo Espinosa Sao Paulo W 10
Jun 19 Sal Suarez Sao Paulo KO 4
Jul 6 Angel Bustos Rio de Janeiro KO 1
Jul 31 Ruben Caceres Sao Paulo KO 7
Oct 9 Angel Bustos Sao Paulo KO 4
Oct 30 Gianni Zuddas Sao Paulo W 10
Dec 12 Danny Kid Sao Paulo W 10
1960
Feb 19 Ernesto Miranda Sao Paulo W 15
Jun 10 Ernesto Miranda Sao Paulo KO 3
Jul 15 Claudio Barrientos Sao Paulo KO 8
Aug 18 Joe Medel Los Angeles KO 10
Sep 30 Ricardo Moreno Sao Paulo KO 6
Nov 18 Eloy Sanchez Los Angeles KO 6
(Wins Vacant World Bantamweight Title)
Dec 16 Billy Peacock Sao Paulo KO 2
1961
Mar 25 Piero Rollo Rio de Janeiro KO 10
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
Apr 18 Sugar Ray Buenos Aires KO 2
Jul 26 Sadao Yaoita Sao Paulo KO 10
Aug 19 Ramon Arias Caracas KO 7
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
Dec 7 Fernando Soto Sao Paulo KO 8
1962
Jan 18 Johnny Caldwell Sao Paulo KO 10
(Unifies World Bantamweight Title)
May 4 Herman Marques San Francisco KO 10
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
Sep 11 Joe Medel Sao Paulo KO 6
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
1963
Apr 4 Katsuyoshi Aoki Tokyo KO 3
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
May 18 Johnny Jamito Quezon City, Phil. KO 11
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
1964
Nov 27 Bernardo Caraballo Bogota, Colombia KO 7
(Retains World Bantamweight Title)
1965
May 17 Fighting Harada Nagoya, Japan L 15
(Loses World Bantamweight Title)
Nov 5 Manny Elias Sao Paulo D 10
1966
Jun 1 Fighting Harada Tokyo L 15
(For World Bantamweight Title)
1969
Aug 27 Rudy Corona Sao Paulo KO 7
1970
Jan 30 Nevio Carbi Sao Paulo W 10
May 29 Manny Elias Sao Paulo W 10
Sep 25 Roberto Wong Sao Paulo KO 3
Dec 5 Giovanni Girgenti Sao Paulo W 10
1971
Mar 26 Jerry Stokes Sao Paulo KO 2
Jun 10 Domencio Chiloiro Sao Paulo W 10
Sep 10 Tony Jumaoas Sao Paulo W 10
Nov 16 Robert Porcel Sao Paulo KO 2
1972
Mar 24 Guillermo Morales Sao Paulo KO 6
Apr 28 Felix Figueroa Sao Paulo W 10
Jun 30 Jose Bisbal Sao Paulo KO 2
Aug 18 Shig Fukuyama Sao Paulo KO 9
Sep 29 Djemai Belhadi Sao Paulo KO 3
1973
May 5 Jose Legra Brasilia, Brazil W 15
(Wins WBC and World Featherweight Titles)
Jul 21 Godfrey Stevens Sao Paulo KO 4
Aug 26 Frankie Crawford Bauru, Brazil W 10
Oct 20 Vicente Saldivar Salvador, Brazil KO 4
(Retains World Featherweight Title)
1975
Jan 3 Niliberto Herrera Junday, Brazil W 10
1976
Feb 24 Enzo Farinelli Porto Alegre, Brazil KO 4
May 1 Michel Lefebvre Brasilia, Brazil KO 3
May 29 Pasqualino Morbidelli Sao Paulo KO 4
Jul 2 Jose Antonio Jimenez Sao Paulo W 10
Aug 13 Juan Lopez Sao Paulo W 10
Oct 8 Octavio Gomez Sao Paulo W 10