As everyone knows, Eder Jofre was defeated by only one man, the great Japanese warrior Masahiko "Fighting" Harada, who is also a living legend.
Harada was 5'1 ”tall and fought in the 110,118 and 126lb divisions. He was champion in the first two, having won the WBA 110lb title and The Linear Ring by knocking out Pone Kingpetch in the 11th round.
He lost his titles in a Majority Decision (MD) rematch. After that he decided to gain weight, and suffered a magnificent knockout at the hands of José Medel, but his glory would come to him in 1965, where he would face the great Brazilian champion Eder Jofre. That was a magnificent battle and in the opinion of many, controversial, but Harada managed to win the 118lb WBA, WBC and The Ring Lineal titles by split decision (SD), in his native country.
He defended his reign four times, against Englishman Alan Rudkin and, in 1966, again against Jofre, this time defeating him by unanimous decision (UD). In 1967 a rival from the past would resurface to try his luck against him, José Medel. This time his crusade failed and Harada clearly defeats him by unanimous decision (UD). He also defended his belts against the great Bernardo Caraballo.
He ultimately lost by unanimous decision (UD), to fighter Lionel Rose, who with a suffocating style beat him by unanimous decision (UD) in 1968. Since then, he has challenged the 126lb WBC world title twice, against Johnny Famechon, losing the first by points and the second by knockout in the fourteenth round, ending his career in 1970.
The 118lbs from the '60s and' 70s will always have a special place in our hearts. Despite being overshadowed by heavyweights, who also had big names like Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, etc ... at the time, 118lb was the best category in my opinion.
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