Jose Napoles vs. Jean Josselin
Jose Napoles 153 lbs beat Jean Josselin 153 lbs by KO in round 5 of 10
- Date: 1971-08-23
- Location: Forum, Inglewood, California, USA
- Referee: Chuck Hassett
"Jose Napoles, the welterweight champion, knocked out Jean Josselin of France in the 5th round of a four-bout international show. Napoles, almost six pounds over the welterweight limit at 152 3/4, looked a little fat around the middle, but after a slow start he began to look like a champion. Josselin, who said he had never been knocked down, was once within a few points of winning the 147 pound crown. He fought Napoles on even terms for two rounds, then began to lose ground in the 3rd and 4th as Napoles picked holes in the Frenchman's defense. The end came suddenly. Napoles launched a left hook as Josselin stepped forward. It caught Josselin on the chin and he dropped to the canvas. There was no need for referee Chuck Hassett to count. Josselin was out cold." -Ring Magazine, December 1971 issue
- Although the accompanying article stated that Josselin fought a close fight for the world title and had never been down, Josselin, in fact, lost a wide decision to Curtis Cokes for the world crown in '66 and was dropped by Cokes a number of times in their '68 non-title rematch.
- This non-title bout shared the bill with two 12 rounders between Fernando Cabanela v Halimi Gutierrez, Chucho Castillo v Rafael Harrera and a non-title 10 rounder between Ruben Olivares v Valentin Galeano.
- Attendance - 14,808
- Gate - $135,200
Post fight comment
- "Josselin was a difficult opponent because he was so hard to hit clean. I knocked him out with the most perfect combination I ever threw in my life." -Jose Napoles