Former
bantam & featherweight champion, Eder Jofre, was simply one of the
finest fighters in the history of boxing. He had one punch kayo
power in both hands, unlike fellow bantam bangers Zarate and
Olivares. He was also as slick a boxer as either Sugar Ray & was
blessed with unbelievable reflexes & defensive skills. To top off
the package, he also had an iron chin & the endurance & resilience
of a LaMotta, Basilio, or Saad Muhamaad.
Perhaps
his most amazing quality was his ability to adapt. Jofre was a very
intelligent fighter who could change his style to adjust to any kind
of opponent. He could be cute, brawl, anything . . . the guy was a
fistic work of art, & he did all this as a vegetarian! He didn't eat
meat, poultry, fish or dairy products . . . amazing!
Actually
he had two careers interrupted by 3 years in retirement. His first
major bout was against Danny Kid, in December of '59. Kid was a top
5 Filipino bantam who was tough as nails & Jofre mauled him for a 10
round decision. His next fight was against Ernesto Miranda, the #1
contender & South American bantam champion. Miranda was a very slick
boxer who could punch more than a little. Jofre won a 15 round
decision & followed it up with a third round kayo four months later.
Later that same year (1960), he won the N.B.A version of the world
bantamweight title with a sixth round kayo of Eloy Sanchez, a
murderous puncher who had sent the previous champion (Jose Becerra),
into retirement via an eighth round non-title kayo. Less than a
month later, Jofre had a non-title fight with top rated LA
featherweight, Billy Peacock, winning by second round kayo. You
don't see champions taking those kind of risks today!
For the
next five years he dominated the bantams, knocking out, among
others, Alphonse Halimi, Piero Rollo, Jose Medel, Bernardo Carabello
& Johnny Caldwell. These fighters were all former or future world
champs, or very deserving #1 contenders. No jive, any one of those
guys would have a least a piece of the title today.
By 1965,
Jofre had been wanting to retire for a couple of years, but hadn't
because he was such a national hero in Brazil. His only other close
( & I do mean close), rival for Brazil's affection is Pele. At this
point, Jofre was 30 years old, ancient by lower weight standards. He
went over to Japan & lost two razor thin decisions to one of the
great, undisputed all-time world flyweight & bantam weight champions
(& finally inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in
1995), Masahiko "Fighting" Harada. After his second loss to Harada,
Jofre retired for three years. He did not fight from 1966 through
1969.
In 1973 &
at the incredible age of 37, he won the Featherweight title via a 15
round decision over Jose Legra. He followed this up with a kayo in 4
over the great, former two-time featherweight champion, Mexican
southpaw, Vicente Saldivar. Jofre's feat of regaining a world title
at such an advanced age (for a lighter weight fighter), easily
equals Big George's kayo of Michael Moorer.
In 1974,
the WBC in it's finite wisdom decided that the sport of boxing would
best be served by stripping Jofre of his title. Jofre continued
fighting & winning, but finally retired in 1976, undefeated during
his comeback, with a record of 25-0 13 kayo's. He ended his career
with 72 wins, 2 defeats (both by split decision in Japan) & 4 draws
with 50 kayos.
Today,
Jofre is the mayor of San Paolo, one of the most populated cities in
the world. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of
Fame in 1992.
