Éder Jofre

Eder Jofre ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 26 March 1936 – 2 October 2022)<ref name="Obituary">"Éder Jofre, ex-pugilista, morre aos 86 anos em SP". g1.globo.com. Retrieved 2 October 2022.</ref> was a Brazilian professional boxer and architect who was both bantamweight and featherweight world champion. He is considered by many to be the greatest bantamweight boxer of all time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2019, he was voted the 16th greatest boxer of all time, which made him the third greatest living boxer (behind only Roberto Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard) by "The International Boxing Research Organization". In 2002, he was named the 19th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine. In 1996, he was rated the 9th greatest boxer of the previous 50 years. He is ranked #85 on Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers Of All Time list.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1992, Jofre was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, and remains the only Brazilian thus honored.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Amateur career

Jofre represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Olympic results

• First round bye
• Defeated Thein Myint (Burma) on points
• Lost to Claudio Barrientos (Chile) on points

Professional career

Éder Jofre, a son of Aristides Jofre, whose nicknames (Eder's) were "Galinho de Ouro" (="Golden Bantam") and "Jofrinho", made his professional debut on 23 March 1957, beating Raul Lopez by knockout in five rounds. He had twelve fights in 1957, including two each against Lopez, Osvaldo Perez, and Ernesto Miranda, the last of whom against whom Jofre sustained his first two record stains: two ten-round draws (ties).

In 1958, Jofre won four more fights, and then, on 14 May of that year, he had his first fight abroad, drawing in ten rounds against Ruben Caceres in Montevideo, Uruguay. On 14 November, Jose Smecca became the 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 19 February 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 the fourth fight with Miranda, and, after one more win, he made his U.S. debut, defeating top-ranked challenger Jose Medel by knockout in ten rounds on 16 August in Los Angeles. Next, he defeated the power-punching Ricardo Moreno (later ranked among boxing's all-time best punchers by Ring Magazine), by a knockout in the sixth round.

On 18 November of that year, Jofre became world champion, when he knocked out Eloy Sanchez in six rounds, in Los Angeles, to claim the vacant WBA World Bantamweight title.

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 Bogotá, 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.

On 17 May 1965, his streak as an undefeated fighter was broken when he lost to "Fighting Harada" by a controversial fifteen-round split decision in Nagoya, Japan, to lose the world Bantamweight title.

After losing to Harada by unanimous decision at a rematch held in Tokyo on 1 June 1966, Jofre retired.

In 1969, he made a comeback, beating Rudy Corona by a knockout in six rounds on 26 August. After winning thirteen fights in a row, he challenged for a world title once again: on 5 May 1973, he fought Jose Legra for the Lineal and WBC featherweight titles, in Brasília.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jofre became a two-division world champion by defeating Legra with a fifteen-round majority 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 defeated Frankie Crawford in a non-title affair and defended his world Featherweight title against fellow former world Bantamweight champion Vicente Saldivar of Mexico, in a "super fight" held at Salvador. He knocked Saldivar out in four rounds.

Éder Jofre in 1962

After a string of fights against lesser opponents, he retired, having beaten the Mexican Octavio Gomez by a unanimous but controversialTemplate:According to whom decision (120 – 110 by judge Antonio Di, 119 – 115 by judge Adriano Carollo and 117 – 116 by judge Américo Vieira) in São Paulo on 8 October 1976. In this last fight, Jofre was slow and uncertain, and himself put in doubt the correctness of the arbiter's decision ("Digam o que disserem, eu não venci Famoso Gomez" he said ti the Rio de Janeiro newspaper O Globo).

Jofre had a record of 72–2–4 (50 KOs), making him a member of the exclusive group of boxers who have won 50 or more fights by knockout.

After boxing

Jofre worked in politics, serving as an alderman for the city of São Paulo for 16 years. He then worked for DERSA, a state-owned company, working with the highways of São Paulo. In 2004, a DVD of Jofre's life titled "O Grande Campeão" was released. On Jofre's 85th birthday, in 2021, the first English language biography of his life was released. The book titled "Eder Jofre: Brazil's First Boxing World Champion", by family friend and author Christopher J. Smith won the "'Book of the Year'" at the "West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame" in October 2021 at the Loews Hotel in Hollywood, California. Present at the event was Jofre and his son, Marcel, and daughter, Andrea. Jofre was in Los Angeles to be inducted into the "West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame" and on this trip he re-visited the site of his bantamweight world title victory, The Olympic Auditorium - his first visit to the venue since that evening on 18 November 1960.

Exhibitions and calisthenics

Jofre occasionally came out of retirement to fight exhibitions. Some of his more noteworthy exhibitions were against Servilio de Oliveira<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> and Alexis Arguello.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> In 2010, at age 74, Jofre, a physical fitness fanatic who was still the reflection of great health, put out a calisthenics video.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Vegetarianism

Jofre was a vegetarian.<ref>"A Win for Art and Broccoli". vault.si.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.</ref><ref>Myler, Patrick. (1998). A Century of Boxing Greats: Inside the Ring with the Hundred Best Boxers. Robson/Parkwest. p. 173.</ref> He has been described as one of the few vegetarians ever to win a boxing world championship.<ref>Mullan, Harry. (1987). Great Book of Boxing. Crescent Books. p. 411.</ref> He became a vegetarian at the age of 20 after reading a book that stated meat consumption was unhealthy for the body.<ref name="boxeomundial">"Eder Jofre: The Golden Bantam". boxeomundial.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.</ref> Jofre adhered to his strict vegetarian diet from the age of 20 and commented in 2019 "I even feel disgust today when I see people eating meat... I eat pasta, rice and beans, boiled potatoes or fried and very sporadically egg. I drink milk, yogurt, curds, and honey".<ref name="boxeomundial"/>

Illness and death

Jofre suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.<ref name="Obituary"/> He was hospitalized in March 2022 at a clinic in Embu das Artes because of pneumonia. He died on 2 October due to complications from the disease.<ref name="Obituary"/> He was 86.

Professional boxing record

Template:S-end

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

• NYSAC bantamweight champion (118 lbs)
• NBA (WBA) bantamweight championTemplate:Efn (118 lbs)
• WBC bantamweight championTemplate:Efn (118 lbs)
• WBC featherweight champion (126 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles

• The Ring bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

Regional/International titles

• South American bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

Undisputed titles

• Undisputed bantamweight champion

Honors

He was a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

He is listed #16 on "International Boxing Research Organization" all-time pound-for-pound list.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
78	Template:Yes2 Win	72–2–4	Octavio Gomez	UD	12	1976-10-08	Template:Small
77	Template:Yes2 Win	71–2–4	Juan Antonio López	UD	10	1976-08-13	Template:Small
76	Template:Yes2 Win	70–2–4	Jose Antonio Jimenez	UD	10	1976-07-02	Template:Small
75	Template:Yes2 Win	69–2–4	Pasqualino Morbidelli	KO	4 (10), Template:Small	1976-05-29	Template:Small
74	Template:Yes2 Win	68–2–4	Michel Lefevbre	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	1976-05-02	Template:Small
73	Template:Yes2 Win	67–2–4	Enzo Farinelli	KO	4 (10)	1976-02-24	Template:Small
72	Template:Yes2 Win	66–2–4	Niliberto Herrera	UD	10	1975-01-03	Template:Small
71	Template:Yes2 Win	65–2–4	Vicente Saldivar	KO	4 (15)	1973-10-21	Template:Small	Template:Small
70	Template:Yes2 Win	64–2–4	Frankie Crawford	UD	10	1973-08-25	Template:Small
69	Template:Yes2 Win	63–2–4	Godfrey Stevens	KO	4 (10)	1973-07-21	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2 Win	62–2–4	José Legrá	MD	15	1973-05-05	Template:Small	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2 Win	61–2–4	Djiemai Belhadri	KO	3 (10)	1972-09-29	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2 Win	60–2–4	Shig Fukuyama	TKO	9 (10)	1972-08-18	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2 Win	59–2–4	Jose Bisbal	KO	2 (10)	1972-06-30	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2 Win	58–2–4	Felix Figueroa	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2 Win	57–2–4	Guillermo Morales	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2 Win	56–2–4	Robert Porcel	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2 Win	55–2–4	Tony Jumao-As	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2 Win	54–2–4	Domenico Chiloiro	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2 Win	53–2–4	Jerry Stokes	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2 Win	52–2–4	Giovanni Girgenti	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2 Win	51–2–4	Roberto Wong	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2 Win	50–2–4	Manny Elias	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2 Win	49–2–4	Nevio Carbi	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2 Win	48–2–4	Rudy Corona	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:No2 Loss	47–2–4	Fighting Harada	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
52	Template:Draw Draw	47–1–4	Manny Elias	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
51	Template:No2 Loss	47–1–3	Fighting Harada	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2 Win	47–0–3	Bernardo Caraballo	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2 Win	46–0–3	Johnny Jamito	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2 Win	45–0–3	Katsutoshi Aoki	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2 Win	44–0–3	José Medel	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2 Win	43–0–3	Herman Marques	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2 Win	42–0–3	Johnny Caldwell	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2 Win	41–0–3	Fernando Gonçalves	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2 Win	40–0–3	Ramon Arias	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2 Win	39–0–3	Sadao Yaoita	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2 Win	38–0–3	Sugar Ray	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2 Win	37–0–3	Piero Rollo	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2 Win	36–0–3	Billy Peacock	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2 Win	35–0–3	Eloy Sanchez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2 Win	34–0–3	Ricardo Moreno	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2 Win	33–0–3	José Medel	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2 Win	32–0–3	Claudio Barrientos	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2 Win	31–0–3	Ernesto Miranda	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2 Win	30–0–3	Ernesto Miranda	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2 Win	29–0–3	Danny Kid	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2 Win	28–0–3	Giovanni Zuddas	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2 Win	27–0–3	Angel Bustos	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2 Win	26–0–3	Ruben Cáceres	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2 Win	25–0–3	Salustiano Suarez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2 Win	24–0–3	Angel Bustos	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2 Win	23–0–3	Leo Espinosa	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2 Win	22–0–3	Salustiano Suarez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2 Win	21–0–3	Aniceto Pereyra	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2 Win	20–0–3	Roberto Castro	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2 Win	19–0–3	Jose Smecca	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2 Win	18–0–3	Jose Casas	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2 Win	17–0–3	Jose Casas	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2 Win	16–0–3	Roberto Olmedo	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2 Win	15–0–3	Juan Carlos Acebal	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2 Win	14–0–3	German Escudero	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2 Win	13–0–3	German Escudero	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
15	Template:Draw Draw	12–0–3	Ruben Cáceres	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2 Win	12–0–2	Cristobal Gabisans	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2 Win	11–0–2	Avelino Romero	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2 Win	10–0–2	Cristobal Gabisans	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2 Win	9–0–2	Adolfo Ramon Pendas	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2 Win	8–0–2	Luis Angel Jimenez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
9	Template:Draw Draw	7–0–2	Ernesto Miranda	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
8	Template:Draw Draw	7–0–1	Ernesto Miranda	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2 Win	7–0	Raul Jaime	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2 Win	6–0	Raul Jaime	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2 Win	5–0	Juan Gonzalez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2 Win	4–0	Osvaldo Perez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2 Win	3–0	Osvaldo Perez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2 Win	2–0	Raul Lopez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2 Win	1–0	Raul Lopez	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Small
CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="de andrade lima Page">de andrade lima PageTemplate:Dead link</ref> In 1983, at the WBC's 20th anniversary, he was voted the greatest bantamweight of all time. He is also rated as the WBA'a all-time "super champion." He was listed #9 on "Ring Magazine's" 50 greatest boxers of the past 50 years in 1996. He is listed as #19 on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. In 2003, he was listed as #85 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Jofre was ranked as the number 1 bantamweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="de andrade lima Page"/> Éder Jofre is depicted in the 2018 biographical film 10 Segundos Para Vencer. He was portrayed by Brazilian actor Daniel de Oliveira.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 2021, he was inducted into the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame.<ref>"Eder Jofre's Legacy Continues to Be Recognized, 61 Years After He First Became Champion". ringtv.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.</ref> See also List of world bantamweight boxing champions List of world featherweight boxing champions Notes and references Notes References Further reading Eder Jofre External links Template:Boxrec Eder Jofre - CBZ Profile