Curtis Cokes vs. Charley Shipes
Curtis Cokes 145 lbs beat Charley Shipes 145 lbs by TKO at 1:37 in round 8 of 15
- Date: 1967-10-02
- Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, USA
- Referee: Jack Downey 7-2
- Judge: Jack Silver 6-3
- Judge: Rudy Ortega 6-2
"Curtis Cokes, a cool precisionist, has proved he is the rightful claimant to the world's welterweight championship. The lean Texan, who went into the fight recognised as champion everywhere in the world but in the state of California, gave Oakland's Charley Shipes a sound trouncing and stopped him at 1:37 of the 8th round of a scheduled 15 round title clash at the Coliseum Arena. Charley gave it his best shot but couldn't get out of the way of Cokes' lightning-quick rights, which put him on the canvas in the 4th, 6th and twice in the 8th. When it was over Shipes had blood streaming from a cut over the right eyelid and from his nose and mouth. Cokes was unmarked and wasn't even breathing heavily." -Oakland Tribune
Unofficial scorecards (all for Cokes through 7 completed rounds)
- Oakland Tribune - 8-1
- San Mateo Times - 7-2
- AP - 7-2
- Attendance (paid) - 7,536
- Gate - $60,670 (Oakland record)
- Purses - Cokes - $42,500, Shipes - $11,000
Post fight comment
- "He's the best fighter I've ever fought and his right hand is beautiful. It's no disgrace to lose to a good fighter like Curtis Cokes." -Charley Shipes