Today in Boxing History: Eder Jofre Fights Final Title Bout
On this day in 1973, Eder Jofre fought his last title bout, knocking out Vicente Saldivar in Salvador, Brazil, to retain his WBC Featherweight title.
Jofre had held the bantamweight title from 1960 to 1965, before losing it to Masahiko “Fighting� Harada by split decision. After losing another decision to Harada in May of 1966, Jofre retired.
Thirty-eight months later, he returned to the ring as a featherweight. Despite the long layoff, Jofre reeled off 14 straight wins. He then won the WBC Featherweight title with a majority decision over Jose Legra in May of 1973.
Saldivar had held the featherweight belt himself from 1964 to 1967, before briefly retiring. He then came back to win the WBC title from Johnny Famechon in May of 1970 and then lost it Kuniaki Shibata seven months later. Saldivar retired again in 1971, but returned to the ring two years later to face Jofre.
Because of the prolific careers of both fighters, the bout was billed as a “super fight,� but it did not live up to expectations. Jofre dominated the fight, and knocked out Saldivar in the fourth round.
Saldivar retired for good after the bout, and Jofre was stripped of his title in June of 1974 for not defending it. He fought seven more times after the Saldivar fight and capped his career in 1976.
Eder Jofre was a great fighter. He displayed prolonged greatness and even found it in him to win the featherweight crown long after losing his original championship.