Eder Jofre
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Name: Eder Jofre
Alias: Golden Bantam - O Galo De Ouro
Birth Name: Éder Jofre
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Birthplace: Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Died: 2022-10-02 (Age:86)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 163cm
Reach: 167cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record
- Managers: Abraham Katzenelson, Hugo Cunha and Marcos Lazaro
- Trainer: Aristides Jofre
- Éder Jofre Photo Gallery
Biography
Eder Jofre (born March 26, 1936), is a Brazilian former boxer whom many consider to be the best Brazilian boxer of all time. Jofre is also considered by many historians as the greatest Bantamweight of all time [1].
A native of Sao 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. On November 18 of that year, Jofre became NBA world champion, when he knocked out former world Bantamweight champion Jose Becerra's conqueror 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 Bogota, 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. (Jofre is one of few vegetarians to win a world title.)
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 Cesar Chavez.
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 Featherweight 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 12 round decision on October 8, 1976.
Jofre has since dedicated himself to being a boxing trainer in Brazil. He also owns businesses such as supermarkets.
He had a record of 72 wins, 2 losses and 4 draws as a professional, with 52 knockout wins, making him a member of the exclusive elite group of boxers with 50 or more wins by knockout.
Exhibitions after Retirement
- Jofre has occasionally come out of retirement to fight exhibitions. Two of his most memorable exhibitions have been against Servilio de Oliveira [2] and the late Alexis Arguello [3].
Amateur Career
Represented Brazil in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games in the Bantamweight (119.5 pounds) class. His results were:
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Thein Myint of (Burma) on points
- Lost to Claudio Barrientos of (Chile) on points
Professional record
Championship record
- 11 opponents (10 by KO) beaten in world title fights.
- 2 opponents (1 by KO) for the World Featherweight Title.
- 9 opponents (9 by KO) for the World Bantamweight Title.
External Links
- IBRO Journal article: [4]
| Preceded by: Jose Becerra Retired |
NBA World Bantamweight Champion 1960 Nov 18 – 1962 Sep 11 |
Succeeded by: WBA Bantamweight Champion Eder Jofre |
| Preceded by: Inaugural Champion |
WBA Bantamweight Champion 1962 Sep 11 – 1965 May 18 |
Succeeded by: Fighting Harada |
| Preceded by: Inaugural Champion |
WBC Bantamweight Champion 1963 Feb 14 – 1965 May 18 |
Succeeded by: Fighting Harada |
| Preceded by: Jose Legra |
WBC Featherweight Champion 1973 May 5 – 1974 Jun 17 Stripped |
Succeeded by: Bobby Chacon |