By Joe Koizumi

May 18 is the memorial day that a miracle happened here in Japan in 1965 as huge underdog Masahiko “Fighting” Harada upset previously unbeaten “Golden Bantam” Eder Jofre to wrest the undisputed world bantamweight belt in Nagoya. It was fifty-seven years ago but this reporter, then an eighteen-year-old boxing-addict who already began writing for The Ring Magazine as a correspondent guided by the editor Nat Fleischer a year earlier, still remembers everything in detail on the historic event. I would like to write an untold story thereon.

Originally scheduled on April 7, Jofre claimed he was sick and asked for a postponement. The Brazilian hero, however, attended an award-giving ceremony in New York in April, without keeping quiet for treatment in Brazil. It is said Jofre simply didn’t like the Japan’s climate of early spring (usually still cool), so the event was eventually put off by some forty days until May 18—by Jofre’s request.

The Japanese challenger Harada, in the end of February that year, sustained a right leg pain in the training camp in Shimoda, and couldn’t even jog for weeks. The postponement asked by Jofre fortunately helped Harada, who could recover well and make himself in good shape at the point of the rescheduled fight.

Before their encounter, there happened a hot argument on the gloves to be used. The local promoter in Nagoya prepared only gloves made in Japan, but Jofre didn’t like them and his manager Abraham Katzenelson demanded Everlast or Reyes gloves as the champion’s privilege. In conclusion, they couldn’t prepare them in time, and Jofre finally accepted Japanese gloves being used for the title bout.

There was a “Third Man” behind the scene who took an important role in the upset happening. It was Jose Medel, a perennial top contender out of Mexico. Medel, a razor-sharp counterpuncher, scored an impressive sixth-round TKO victory over Harada, dropping him time and again in September 1963. On the contrary, Jofre decked a couple of knockout victories over Medel twice in 1960 and in 1962. Given Medel as a basis for comparison, Jofre was by far superior to Harada, as everyone might admit.

Edel Jofre (then 47-0-3, 37 KOs) had scored, before he faced Harada, all eight successful defenses by knockout and sixteen KO victories in a row to his credit. Harada (then 38-3, 18 KOs) was formerly world flyweight champ who moved up to the 118-pound category since two years before. Jofre once came to Japan to fully display his power punching and excellent skills in dispatching Orient titlist Katsutoshi Aoki in three stunning rounds two years before in April 1963. Jofre was a prohibitive favorite, while Harada was an obvious underdog sentimentally supported by our partisan aficionados.

The dramatic fourth round witnessed Harada’s right uppercut explode and have the champ staggering to the ropes, where the Japanese challenger one-sidedly rained a flurry of punches to the peek-a-boo stylist Eder. But the Golden Bantam, in round five, battered Harada to the punch and had him on the brink of knockdown. With his incredible durability, Masahiko very barely withstood the champ’s retaliation with the bell coming to his rescue.

After a narrow escape, Harada wrongly returned to his rival’s corner, pointing Jofre to the other corner, gesturing, “That’s your own corner.” Harada was wrong and Jofre was right and. Harada returned to his corner, but it might show his punishment given by Jofre’s tremendously furious attack.

Harada was just twenty-two years of age, seven years his junior to Jofre, 29. Their difference of age might account for their stamina in later rounds, when Jofre visibly indicated his fatigue and fading in speed and volume of punches. Harada remarkably showed his last surge and abundant stamina in the championship rounds after the tenth session.

The official tallies were as follows: scoring referee Barney Ross (formerly three-division world champion; US) 71-69 for Harada, Jay Edson (WBA’s executive, US) 72-71 for Jofre and Masao Kato (Japan) 72-70 for Harada. The referee Ross, who eventually had a casting vote on the result, said, “It is very surprising. I didn’t expect such a result to happen. But Harada admirably won over the great champion Jofre by his own power, and proved he’s also a great new champion. Watch Jofre’s left chest that was reddened and swollen by Harada’s attack. Should he have been as what he used to be, he would have quickly retaliate to his opponent’s attack, but today’s Jofre couldn’t do it. Jofre absorbed good punishment from Harada, so he couldn’t fight back well to overcome his early deficits on points.” (From special issue of “Pro Westling and Boxing” magazine celebrating Harada’s coronation, June 1965).

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Lately Japanese organizers (Akihide Ishii and Shoji Tsue) arranged a wonderful opportunity to have Jofre and Harada communicate with Zoom reunion after fifty-seven years since their first encounter. They had a great time chatting each other. We could realize their great fistic rivalry and long friendship as well.

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Jofre and Harada fought again a year later (on May 31, 1966) with Harada victorious by a hairline but unanimous decision (69-68, 71-68, 71-69) in Tokyo. There is a still untold story behind it, but this eloquent observer with a good memory would like to make it in May next year.