Greatest Bantamweight of all time? Eder Jofre

[Brian123]

Was Eder Jofre the greatest bantamweight of all time? Also is he one of the the top ten Pound-For-Pound boxers ever as several boxing historians claim?


The list of great fighters he beat is a mile long and here is a little background info:



Herb Goldman ranked Jofre as the #1 All-Time Bantamweight; IBRO ranked him as the #1 All-Time Bantamweight; Dan Cuoco, Director of IBRO, ranked Jofre as the #2 All-Time Pound-For-Pound boxer in ring history, second only to "Sugar" Ray Robinson; Eder was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992Former bantam & featherweight champion, Eder Jofre, was simply one of the finest fighters in the history of boxing. He had one punch kayo power in both hands, unlike fellow bantam bangers Zarate and Olivares. He was also as slick a boxer as either Sugar Ray & was blessed with unbelievable reflexes & defensive skills. To top off the package, he also had an iron chin & the endurance & resilience of a LaMotta, Basilio, or Saad Muhamaad.
Perhaps his most amazing quality was his ability to adapt. Jofre was a very intelligent fighter who could change his style to adjust to any kind of opponent. He could be cute, brawl, anything . . . the guy was a fistic work of art, & he did all this as a vegetarian! He didn't eat meat, poultry, fish or dairy products . . . amazing!

[TommyV]

Yes.

The guy had everything. Knock out power in both hands, great technical skills, a very effective bobbing/weaving style, great reflexes and a very good body attack.

[Russell]

I'd say he's a very good choice for the honors.

[RafaelGonzal]

This guy is vastly underrated and while guys Like Whitaker get touted and talked about because he was seen on TV by posters on these forums a guy like Jofre who is the real deal is never mentioned.

[Mendoza]

Jofre has some very inflentuial fans. Aside from the Mendel fight, is there any other Jofre fight on film that I can see?

[Russell]

This guy is vastly underrated and while guys Like Whitaker get touted and talked about because he was seen on TV by posters on these forums a guy like Jofre who is the real deal is never mentioned.

Hard to blame everyone when so little film on him exists. Not like there's a lot to sink our teeth into.

[the cobra]

Jofre is the clear cut #1 at 118lbs IMO. He's not top 10 all-time P4P, at least I don't think so, but top 20 no doubt. His resume is very good, but I wouldn't call it great. Based on the little film that does exist, I'd have to say he's one of the more complete fighters in history, right there with Duran or Robinson or Charles and so on.

[Brian123]

Jofre has some very inflentuial fans. Aside from the Mendel fight, is there any other Jofre fight on film that I can see?

Here is one decent clip:

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[Sweet Pea]

The best footage of him is against Medel and not Harada, where he was weight-drained and clearly effected.

Best Bantam of all time, but not top 10 P4P.

[TBooze]

I personally have Zarate #1, but Jofre is up there challenging, no doubt about that.

[Loewe]

This guy is vastly underrated and while guys Like Whitaker get touted and talked about because he was seen on TV by posters on these forums a guy like Jofre who is the real deal is never mentioned.

That´s untrue he´s on most people´s lists.

[JohnThomas1]

I like Zarate myself.

[teeto]

I have usually had Zarate just edging him for number 1, the little details can swing it either way for each man imo, as it is close. I have Jofre as my number 1 at the weight in terms of h2h though.

[mcvey]

Was Eder Jofre the greatest bantamweight of all time? Also is he one of the the top ten Pound-For-Pound boxers ever as several boxing historians claim?


The list of great fighters he beat is a mile long and here is a little background info:



Herb Goldman ranked Jofre as the #1 All-Time Bantamweight; IBRO ranked him as the #1 All-Time Bantamweight; Dan Cuoco, Director of IBRO, ranked Jofre as the #2 All-Time Pound-For-Pound boxer in ring history, second only to "Sugar" Ray Robinson; Eder was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992Former bantam & featherweight champion, Eder Jofre, was simply one of the finest fighters in the history of boxing. He had one punch kayo power in both hands, unlike fellow bantam bangers Zarate and Olivares. He was also as slick a boxer as either Sugar Ray & was blessed with unbelievable reflexes & defensive skills. To top off the package, he also had an iron chin & the endurance & resilience of a LaMotta, Basilio, or Saad Muhamaad.
Perhaps his most amazing quality was his ability to adapt. Jofre was a very intelligent fighter who could change his style to adjust to any kind of opponent. He could be cute, brawl, anything . . . the guy was a fistic work of art, & he did all this as a vegetarian! He didn't eat meat, poultry, fish or dairy products . . . amazing!



I think he was better even than Olivares and Zarate.

[Minotauro]

Its between him a Oliveras over who's the best at 118lbs.

[Drew101]

Zarate, Olivares, and Jofre are the three most logical choices, with Jofre being my person number one.

[Sweet Pea]

I rate Zarate clearly behind Jofre and Olivares personally.

[teeto]

I rate Zarate clearly behind Jofre and Olivares personally.
Take a look at the thread i made addressed to you!

[janitor]

Was Eder Jofre the greatest bantamweight of all time?

He has a claim as good as anybody at that weight.

For my money his main rival for the honours is George Dixon.

There is a century separating them.

[Russell]

Zarate's KO percentage makes it easy to slightly overrate him, in my opinion.

[teeto]

Its subjective, while Jofre is most likely (and imo) better than Zarate, Zarate was very prolific in his own time and era. Its also arguable he never lost at the weight, i personally found the Pintor bout the hardest to judge of any ive seen, still havent gotten around to doing it again!

[Raging B(_)LL]

Perhaps Jofre was the best at the weight, but between 1955-75 the lower weight classes, particularly at bantamweight, were as tough as any other twenty year span in history and was full of good to great fighters. And how come no one has made any mention of Manuel Ortiz when talking about great batams?

Ortiz liked to drink, and would blow up to lightweight and take on guys like Lauro Salas, then sweat back down to 118lbs. He could compete with world ranked lightweights carrying a soft belly and defeated many of them as well. Of course, Olivares also drank himself outta the bantam division.

This makes a good case for those who choose Jofre as best, since he was ALWAYS in top shape. At his peak there wasn`t anything this man couldn`t do, and what is especially impressive about the man is that Jofre left the game after a long career, came back a few years later, this time a full division heavier, and defeated some great featherweights easily.

He put an end to the great Vicente Saldivar by knocking him out in four rounds which is an incredible achievement considering his age at the time. In my opinion there is so little seperating Jofre/Olivares/Zarate/Ortiz that on any given night either of these men could have defeated the other. Jofre has a good case for #1, but I wouldn`t argue with anyone who has Olivares or Ortiz there instead.

[teeto]

Perhaps Jofre was the best at the weight, but between 1955-75 the lower weight classes, particularly at bantamweight, were as tough as any other twenty year span in history and was full of good to great fighters. And how come no one has made any mention of Manuel Ortiz when talking about great batams?

Ortiz liked to drink, and would blow up to lightweight and take on guys like Lauro Salas, then sweat back down to 118lbs. He could compete with world ranked lightweights carrying a soft belly and defeated many of them as well. Of course, Olivares also drank himself outta the bantam division.

This makes a good case for those who choose Jofre as best, since he was ALWAYS in top shape. At his peak there wasn`t anything this man couldn`t do, and what is especially impressive about the man is that Jofre left the game after a long career, came back a few years later, this time a full division heavier, and defeated some great featherweights easily.

He put an end to the great Vicente Saldivar by knocking him out in four rounds which is an incredible achievement considering his age at the time. In my opinion there is so little seperating Jofre/Olivares/Zarate/Ortiz that on any given night either of these men could have defeated the other. Jofre has a good case for #1, but I wouldn`t argue with anyone who has Olivares or Ortiz there instead.
I have Ortiz in my top 5 at the weight, not sure how to rank them moreso as i learn more of their careers. Just havent seen enough footage of Ortiz, but was the best of his era from what i can make of it, elite level bantam of the sport's history, meaning very top tier.

Yeah, Jofre past his best came back and never lost a bout again, Jose Legra being one of his best conquests at feather also.

[The Funny Man 7]

Well-rounded in every aspect of the game.

[McGrain]

No love for Terry McGovern?

[teeto]

No love for Terry McGovern?
One of the finest,

[Raging B(_)LL]

No love for Terry McGovern?

Not from Young Corbetts end thats for sure!

[Brian123]

No love for Terry McGovern?

McGovern is #2 in my book.

[TBooze]

No love for Terry McGovern?

Sorry, I do not swing that way!

But seriously he was a phenomenon of the era, an all-time top 50 pound for pound, and easily top 10 118lber in my book.

[Mendoza]

No love for Terry McGovern?

#1 for me. McGovern was a Tyson like fighter at bantam. In his prime, he was a real attack dog with skills.

[COULDHAVEBEEN]

Zarate, Olivares, and Jofre are the three most logical choices, with Jofre being my person number one.

In my mind Carlos Zarate (see picture below) 63 KO’s from 66 wins and Ruben Oliveras 77 KO’s from 88 wins rated amongst the very best of the Bantams.

Zarate’s record is quite extraordinary. He started out by knocking out a list of novices. But after that just kept on his merry way, and amongst his later KO victims were some very respectable opponents. Sadly, he prematurely retired after the close points loss to Pintor, and by the time he returned much of the earlier magic had disappeared.


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[salsanchezfan]

............I would rank Jofre and Zarate ahead of Olivares. Ruben was great, but less consistent at the highest levels.

[My2Sense]

This guy is vastly underrated and while guys Like Whitaker get touted and talked about because he was seen on TV by posters on these forums a guy like Jofre who is the real deal is never mentioned.

I think the mystique of not having seen him is part of what sells him, much like Harry Greb and Charley Burley.

And in Jofre's case, I think he gets a bit oversold from that mystique.

Out of all the major weight classes, bantam is the hardest to pick a clear all time #1 in IMO.

Jofre has a claim to the top spot, but IMO so do Manny Ortiz and Panama Al Brown, as much or moreso.