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FIGHTING HARADA VS EDER JOFRE ON AKTV ?SUPER FIGHTS? By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Fri, 20 Jan 2012  Two of the greatest bantamweight champions of all time who will long be remembered by local fight fans because of the talented Filipinos they fought and beat, will headline the widely-watched ?SUPER FIGHTS? telecast by AKTV IBC 13 on January 23 at 10:00 p.m. Mike Casey of boxing.com in writing about the title fight said ?There was always something to admire, something to cherish, something to make the blood tingle in (Eder) Jofre?s fights.? Nobody thought the classy Brazilian WBC/WBA world bantamweight champion could lose when he traveled to Nagoya to face Japan?s little buzzsaw, Masahiko ?Fighting? Harada on May 18, 1965. Jofre had previously fought and beat three technically skilled Filipino boxers who however lacked punching power. Jofre won a ten round decision over Leo Espinosa in Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 4 before successfully defending his title with a 12th round TKO over Johnny Jamito at the famed Araneta Coliseum. Jamito was knocked down before the end of the 11th round and was unable to answer the bell for the twelfth. Some eight years later on September 10, 1971 Tony Jumao-As travelled to Sao Paolo and dropped a ten round unanimous decision to Jofre. Fighting Harada, considering the proximity of the Philippines, battled no less than 9 Filipinos including the brave Dio Espinosa, father of two-division world champion Luisito Espinosa and onetime Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation super featherweight champion Oscar Reyes. Harada won both ten round bouts in Japan, beating Espinosa on August 1, 1966 and Reyes on September 17, 1964. Harada also won ten round decisions over Dommy Balajada, Emile De Leon, Vil Tumulak, scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Philippine bantamweight champion Tiny Palacio and scored a 5th round knockout in a scheduled ten round bout against Avelino Estrada , a 6th round knockout over Dommy Froilan and a 2nd round KO of Roy Amolong after which the Filipino retired. When Harada faced Jofre he was coming off a seven fight winning streak while Jofre was undefeated in 50 fights coming into the bout with most fans regarding the Brazilian as being invincible. But Harada stunned the boxing world with a 15 round split decision . Banking on his whirlwind style against the stunned Jofre, Harada built a huge points advantage in the early rounds and then concentrated on defense in the closing rounds to win by a split decision. Ifighting in his familiar whirl-wind style, piled up a huge early lead, and then switched to a defensive pattern in the closing rounds to capture the title with a 15-round split-decision over the previously unbeaten Jofre. Ringside reports said a tumultuous crowd of 12,000 went wild when Referee Barney Ross, former world lightweight and welterweight champion, raised Harada's right hand in token of victory. The 22-year-old Japanese southpaw set a tremendous pace right from the opening bell and piled up points with an aggressive, two-fisted attack that had the title-holder on the verge of a knockout in the fourth round. Showing signs of ring rust from his long lay off Jofre was unable to keep up with the blazing pace of. Harada who went after the champion with left and right combinations over the first ten rounds before smartly keeping the fight in the center of the ring as Jofre went for a knockout. Harada stunned Jofre in the 11th round which ignited an all-out attack by the champion in which he sent Harada reeling against the ropes with a two-fisted attack. The Japanese kept Jofre at bay and until the end the KO punch that Jofre was looking for never came. Referee-judge Barney Ross scored the fight 71-69 for Harada on the five-point must system while judge Masao Kato of Japan had his countryman ahead 72-70. The third judge Jay Edson of the United States had Jofre winning by a close 72-71 margin but that didn?t help. Both the Associated Press and the Pacific Stars & Stripes scored the fight for Harada 71-69 and 70-68. Harada received a mere $2,500 for his unbelievable effort while Jofre?s purse was $30,000 plus expenses. In the rematch, the Pacific Stars & Stripes said "Fighting Harada showed 15,00 cheering fans in Tokyo's Budokan Hall that his close, hotly disputed title win over Eder Jofre in May, 1965, was no fluke. He took everything the squat, powerful South American threw at him - hooks to the body, smashes to the head - and had Jofre on the ropes with his left brow streaming blood and his eyes staring skyward at the final bell. It was a close, punch-for-punch battle. There were no knockdowns." ? In the fight Referee Nick Pope penalized Harada the 7th round due to butting Jofre twice. On the Unofficial scorecards the Associated Press had Harada winning 73-68, United Press International scored it a 69-69 draw and Pacific Stars & Stripes had Harada the winner 70-68 Harada. Harada was the ringside commentator for a Japanese network when world junior lightweight champion rGabriel ?Flash? Elorde dropped challenger Teruo Kosaka five times en route to a 16th round knockout on June 5, 1965 at the Araneta Coliseum where the late ?Smokin? Joe Cantada and this reporter covered the fight for the Radio Mindanao Network through its Manila station dzHP ?The Sound of the City?. Also featured on ?SUPER FIGHTS? will be the classic 15-round thriller between Mexican warriors Lupe Pintor and Carlos Zarate on June 3, 1979 for the WBC bantamweight crown with Pintor, despite being dropped in the 4th round winning a split decision where there was a wide discrepancy in the scorecards between the judges in a fight refereed by Hall-of-Famer Mills Lane. Two judges, Art Lurie and Harold Buck scored the fight for Pintor 143-142 but the third judge Bob Martin had Zarate inexplicably the winner 145 to 133. Highlights of the war between Ricardo ?El Matador? Mayorga of Nicaragua and Giovanni Duran on September 25, 1999 will also be featured on the show. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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