Curtis Cokes vs. Francois Pavilla (1st meeting)

Curtis Cokes 146 lbs drew with Francois Pavilla 148 lbs by PTS in round 10 of 10

• Date: 1967-01-23
• Location: Palais des Sports, Paris, Paris, France

"The 10-round non-title fight between welterweight champion Curtis Cokes of Dallas, Texas, and Francois Pavilla, the French titleholder, Monday night was declared a draw. But the crowd at the Palais des Sports thought the Frenchman won and booed the referee's decision. Cokes kept Pavilla off balance throughout the fight with his boxing ability and staggered Pavilla with a hard right at the start of the 8th round. But he couldn't put him down. Pavilla pressed forward continually during the bout, throwing hard punches to the body." -Associated Press

• Jacques Laude, the president of the Olympic Ring Club of Besancon, France met with Cokes' manager Doug Lord in order to stage a rematch with Cokes and Jean Josselin for the title on April 29th of '67 in Besancon. However, despite all parties being agreeable and Josselin beating Pavilla over 10 rounds the following month in February of '67, Cokes opted to defend against Pavilla in May of '67 in Dallas.

Post-fight comment

• "I was very surprised by the decision. I thought I won. Pavilla is a tough boy, but he's not a good puncher. I'm willing to fight Pavilla again if he wants." -Curtis Cokes