Jesus "José" Becerra (15 April 1936 – 6 August 2016)Former champ Jose Becerra passes was a Mexican professional boxer. He became the Undisputed Bantamweight World Champion in 1959. He was known as the Guadalajara Cobra.

Becerra was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, the youngest of the five children. His parents were Maria Covarrubias and Jesus Becerra. At age 12, in the 5th grade, Becerra quit school to work in a carriage repair shop.

Professional career Becerra received his first public notice in the Mexican sports world by scoring an upset over the vastly more experienced Manuel Armenteros. After some ups and downs, Becerra earned a top 10 ranking by knocking out former world champion Mario D'Agata. A short time later, Becerra won the Undisputed World Bantamweight Championship with a knockout over Alphonse Halimi.

After two successful title defenses, Becerra lost a stunning upset, being knocked out by club-fighter Eloy Sanchez in a non-title fight. Becerra was so dejected by the defeat that he announced his retirement at age 24.

In 1962, Mexican club fighter, Rudy Coronado was seriously injured in a fight. On a special benefit show for Coronado and his family, Becerra returned to the ring and won a 6-round decision over Alberto Martinez. Becerra donated his fight-purse to the injured boxer's family. Becerra never fought again.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes75WinAlberto MartínezPTS613 Oct 196274Loss66–5–3Eloy SánchezKO8 (10), 30 Aug 196073Win66–4–3Chuy RodríguezTKO4 (10)12 Aug 196072Win65–4–3Kenji YonekuraSD1523 May 196071Win64–4–3Pimi BarajasTKO7 (10)10 Apr 196070Win63–4–3Ward YeeUD1015 Mar 196069Win62–4–3Alphonse HalimiKO9 (15), 4 Feb 196068Win61–4–3Héctor CeballosKO3 (10)18 Dec 195967Win60–4–3Frankie DuranUD1012 Dec 195966Win59–4–3Walt IngramTKO9 (10)24 Oct 195965Win58–4–3Alphonse HalimiKO8 (15), 8 Jul 195964Win57–4–3Billy PeacockKO1 (10)20 Apr 195963Win56–4–3Chuy RodríguezKO4 (10)19 Mar 195962Win55–4–3Mario D'AgataRTD10 (12)5 Feb 195961Win54–4–3Ross PadillaKO130 Nov 195860Win53–4–3José Luis MoraKO5 (10)25 Oct 195859Win52–4–3Little CezarTKO4 (10), 5 Sep 195858Win51–4–3Willie ParkerKO2 (10)14 Aug 195857Win50–4–3Joey AugustinKO521 Jul 195856Win49–4–3Gaetano AnnaloroTKO10 (10)28 Jun 195855Win48–4–3Charlie DeBowKO324 May 195854Win47–4–3Miguel LazuTKO7 (10)12 Apr 195853Win46–4–3Héctor AgúndezPTS1031 Mar 195852Win45–4–3Dwight HawkinsTKO9 (10)8 Mar 195851Win44–4–3José MedelPTS108 Feb 195850Win43–4–3Jorge HerreraKO4 (12)25 Jan 195849Loss42–4–3Dwight HawkinsKO4 (10), 6 Nov 195748Win42–3–3Ramón Antonio CalatayudPTS1012 Oct 195747Draw41–3–3Raúl LeanosPTS1017 Aug 195746Win41–3–2Kid IrapuatoTKO8 (10)1 Aug 195745Win40–3–2Johnny OrtegaTKO4 (6)15 Jun 195744Win39–3–2José Luis MoraPTS1025 May 195743Win38–3–2Chuy RodríguezPTS1027 Apr 195742Win37–3–2Juan 'Lefty' PerezTKO4 (10)2 Apr 195741Win36–3–2José MedelPTS102 Mar 195740Win35–3–2José MedelPTS109 Feb 195739Win34–3–2Manuel ArmenterosPTS1012 Jan 195738Win33–3–2Jorge HerreraTKO7 (10)1 Jan 195737Win32–3–2Chuy GuerreroPTS107 Nov 195636Loss31–3–2Germán OhmUD1018 Oct 195635Win31–2–2Memo SánchezPTS106 Sep 195634Win30–2–2Jorge Gabino GómezDQ5 (10)9 Aug 195633Win29–2–2Mario RuízPTS1021 Jun 195632Win28–2–2Rogelio SaucedoPTS1031 May 195631Win27–2–2Jorge ValverdeTKO7 (10)11 May 195630Win26–2–2Germán OhmRTD5 (10)22 Mar 195629Loss25–2–2Cachorro MartínezPTS1018 Feb 195628Win25–1–2Antonio GuevaraKO1011 Feb 195627Win24–1–2Rayito GarcíaPTS1015 Oct 195526Win23–1–2Antonio GuevaraKO108 Oct 195525Win22–1–2Pepe VillaTKO74 Oct 195524Win21–1–2Félix GaytánPTS1016 Jul 195523Win20–1–2Fili PresaKO42 Jul 195522Win19–1–2Chava SantiagoKO6 (10)27 Jun 195521Draw18–1–2Danny BedollaPTS1011 Jun 195520Win18–1–1Joe ChamacoKO5 (10)28 May 195519Win17–1–1Chuy GuerreroKO4 (10)5 Mar 195518Win16–1–1Marcelo GonzálezPTS812 Feb 195517Win15–1–1Kid SonoritaKO4 (8)4 Dec 195416Win14–1–1José Luis NavarroPTS618 Oct 195415Win13–1–1Tomás CervantesTKO3 (6)20 Sep 195414Win12–1–1Mario LeónKO3 (6)6 Sep 195413Draw11–1–1José Luis NavarroPTS623 Aug 195412Win11–1Kid PichilingoKO6 (6)3 Aug 195411Win10–1Alfredo EscalantePTS619 Jul 195410Win9–1Pompeyo GutíerrezTKO3 (6)3 Jul 19549Win8–1Raúl PérezKO2 (4)12 Jun 19548Win7–1Jess MariscalKO2 (4)5 Jun 19547Win6–1César ReynosoTKO4 (4)15 May 19546Win5–1Rubén EspinosaPTS62 May 19545Win4–1Jorge PlascenciaPTS413 Mar 19544Win3–1Raúl SalazarPTS624 Oct 19533Loss2–1Lorenzo IbarraPTS63 Oct 19532Win2–0Miguel EstradaKO5 (6)6 Sep 19531Win1–0Ray GómezKO4 (6)30 Aug 1953

Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC bantamweight champion (118 lbs) NBA (WBA) bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring bantamweight champion (118 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed bantamweight champion

Exhibition Tour

As world champion, Becerra went on a successful exhibition tour which drew big crowds. The tour was as follows:

1959: Sept. 1-Sandy Garcia, Fresno, CA......Exch. 4 rounds 1959: Date ?-Joe Vargas, Stockton, CA.......Exch. TKO 3 rounds 1959: Sept.8- Willie Sanchez, San Jose, CA..Exch. 2 rounds 1959: Sept.8-Cy Ruiz, San Jose, CA,.........Exch. 2 rounds 1959: Sept.9-Eduardo Santos, El Paso, TX....Exch. 4 rounds 1959: Sept.?-Jessie Leija, San Antonio, TX..Exch. 4 rounds 1959: Sept.14-Henry Miramontes, Dallas, TX..Exch. 4 rounds

See also List of world bantamweight boxing champions List of Mexican boxing world champions

References

External links Dan Cuoco Bio Article

José Becerra - CBZ Profile