THE SAO Paulo, Brazil native is regarded as one of the greatest Latin fighters ever. After representing his country at the 1956 Olympics -- he lost in the quarterfinals -- he turned pro in 1957 on his 21st birthday.
He blazed past his first 37 opponents en route to a world title fight; three draws blemished an otherwise perfect record. On November 18, 1960, he scored a six-round kayo over Eloy Sanchez in Los Angeles to win the vacant NBA world bantamweight crown. Four months later, he TKO'd Piero Rollo in Round 10 to win world recognition.
He defended the title seven times before losing it, May 17, 1965 to former bantamweight champ Fighting Harada via 15-round decision in Nagoya, Japan. It was Jofre's first loss since the Olympics. Harada again got the nod over 15 rounds in a June 1966 rematch in Tokyo, and Jofre retired. He was 30.
Three years later he returned and ran off 14 consecutive wins before winning the WBC featherweight crown on May 5, 1973 from Jose Legra via 15-round decision in Brasilia, Brazil.
He defended the title once, a fourth-round kayo of Vicente Saldivar that October. Although stripped of the crown for inactivity in 1974, he won seven more non-title fights before retiring for good in 1976. He is one of the few champions to never have been knocked out.
Born: Mar. 26, 1936
Died: Oct. 2, 2022
Bouts: 78
Won: 72
Lost: 2
Draw: 4
KOs: 50
Induction: 1992
Eder Jofre
