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Check the final part of the homage made for the best Brazilian boxer ever, who turns 80 years old today: Eder Jofre, the eternal "Golden Bantam". Part IV: The Return and the Acclaim The Return of a Champion Nine years. This was how long Eder dedicated to the professional noble art when he retired for the first time. The harsh training routine, the difficulty in making weight which had followed him throughout his career, the questionable losses to Harada, in fights that Eder swears to this day that he did not lose, the lack of support of the Brazilian people when he arrived at Sao Paulo after the second setback against the Japanese opponent influenced, some more and others less, the "Golden Bantam" to retire prematurely, with a little more than 30 years old. In the first months after he moved away from the sport that he dedicated most of his life to, Jofre split his time between his family and appearances on circus shows throughout Brazil, which were organized by his aunt Olga Zumbano. Olga, another member of the Zumbano family who shone in the Brazilian boxing world, came to be known as the "Queen of the Ring", and was a pioneer in the professional wrestling events in Brazil. The Brazilian boxing, despite the absence of its biggest idol, still had some good reasons to smile. In the 1968 Olympics, held in Mexico City, for instance, Servílio de Oliveira would be consecrated as the first national boxer to get an Olympic medal. Fighting in the flyweight division, Servílio got to the semifinals, but was defeated by the Mexican fighter Ricardo Delgado. The fighter from Sao Paulo, who came to be known as "Eder of Ebony" ("Eder de Ébano"), was the only Brazilian Olympic medalist until 2012, when Esquiva Falcão, Yamaguchi Falcão and Adriana Araújo came back from the London Olympics with medals around their necks. Regarding his personal life, Jofre and Cidinha would celebrate the arrival of their second child, this time a girl: Andrea would be born in August 1968. And it was inside his home where one of the motivations for Jofre's return to the rings emerged. Living in retirement, Eder was spending a great deal of his time at home. And, as the story goes, one day his oldest son Marcel asked: "Dad, don't you work?". Although he explained to his little son that he used to be the greatest idol Brazil had ever had in the boxing rings not long ago, that stirred Eder's instinct. And, in the beginning of 1969, Jofre decided to return to fighting. And it was not just that. This time he would fight as a featherweight, one division above. It was eight more pounds (or 3.7 kg) for Jofre to keep, without having to worry as much about the scale as when he was a bantamweight, getting rid of one of the nuisances brought by his career. Continue in the website: http://round13.com.br/?pg=conteudo&artigo=312

The Heyday and the Fall: how Eder made history dominating the division and the world for 4 years, the fights against Harada and the first retirement. Check the third part of Eder Jofre's 80th Birthday Special, a homage written by Round13 about the best Bantamweight boxer of all time. http://round13.com.br/images/uploads//EderJofreJohnnyCaldwell.jpg To read Part I, click here. To read Part II, click here. Part III: The Heyday and the Fall The heyday as a bantamweight: how Eder dominated the division and the world for 4 years Thousands of people welcomed Eder at the airport in Sao Paulo following his win over Sanchez, scene that would happen over and over again during Eder's international disputes. Still in 1960, in the beginning of the heyday of his popularity, Eder would fight once again in Sao Paulo, knocking out the American Billy Pea**** in the second round, less than a month after winning the world champion belt. The year of 1961 would be remarkable for the Brazilian. In addition to the successful title defenses, and also the wins in fights where the belt was not on the line, this was the year when Eder married Maria Aparecida, or Cidinha , his first girlfriend, and with whom Eder would spend 52 years married. Cidinha, another main character in the history of the greatest Brazilian boxer of all time, passed away in July 2013, at the age of 74, having been married to Eder for 52 years. In March of 1961, Eder would defend his belt for the first time. After the refusal of Alphonse Halimi and Freddie Gilroy, it was decided that Jofre would face the Italian Piero Rollo, national bantamweight champion. Rollo, who was 34 at that time, had been undefeated in his last 10 fights, and got into the ring of the Estádio General Severiano (General Severiano Stadium), in Rio de Janeiro, trying to pressure the Brazilian. Although the first rounds were balanced, the European pugilist ended up being gradually overcome by Jofre. Recurring victim of Eder's counterpunches, Rollo was getting his face badly hurt and cut. In the interval for the 10th round, after a decision made by the local committee’s doctor and the Italian boxer's manager, Jofre's win was confirmed. Eder would knock out the Dutch Sugar Ray and the Nipponese Sadao Yaoita in the following months until scheduling his next title defense. In August, Jofre would go to Venezuela, where he would defend his belt for the second time, and the first one abroad. It is worthy to emphasize that Arias was truly a local idol, having been the first Venezuelan boxer to challenge for a world title in 3 years before, when he lost to the Argentinian Pascual Perez in a fight for the world flyweight title. (continue in the website) http://round13.com.br/?pg=conteudo&artigo=295

The most important boxing match in the last years involving a Brazilian boxer is coming. Tonight, at 11 p.m., Brazil’s SporTv broadcasts live from the Madison Square Garden, in New York, the fight between Puerto Rican Felix Verdejo against Brazilian Willian “Baby Face” Silva, in a WBO Latino lightweight title bout. Continuing our special coverage on the fight, we selected 10 curiosities about tonight’s bout: 1- Felix Verdejo has already been defeated by a Brazilian boxer as an amateur. In 2011, during the Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, he was defeated by Robenilson de Jesus, who won the Bronze medal in the tournament. Verdejo’s other fight against a Brazilian in the amateurs, however, gives good memories to him: he won the Gold medal in 2010 Pan-American Youth Championships, in Dominican Republic, beating Brazil’s Gilson Barros in the final. 2- Another one as an amateur: Verdejo classified to 2012 Summer Olympics in London after winning the America’s Olympic Qualifier, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the Olympic Games, he was defeated by Vasyl Lomachenko in the quarter-finals, just one win away of conquering a medal in the tournament. The Ukrainian boxer has already declared that considers Verdejo as his toughest opponent. 3- Willian Silva will be the first Brazilian boxer to enter in Madison Square Guarden’s ring for a boxing match since October 10th of 2009. In that occasion, Brazil’s Carlos “Açougue” Nascimento was defeated by Pawel Wolak, after the Brazilian did not return for the sixth round. 4- The international media misspells the name of the Brazilian boxer. Websites like Top Rank, and even Top Rank’s website, spells “William”, with “M”. Actually, the correct spelling is “Willian”, with “N”. “My name is with N, but everyone spells it wrongly. Even my contracts were with M. I don’t like people misspelling my name”, declared the Brazilian during an interview made by Round13 earlier this month. 5- Verdejo have already defeated a Brazilian as a professional: on last December, he beat Josenilson dos Santos by TKO in the 2nd round. Willian, on the other hand, have never faced a Puerto Rican as a pro. 6- The last bout of both boxers occurred in the same event. Fighting out of Coliseo Roberto Clemente, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Willian Silva knocked Bayan Jargal out, while Verdejo defeated Josenilson dos Santos. Both were preliminary bouts for the WBO super-bantamweight title fight between Nonito Donaire and Cesar Juarez, won by Donaire. 7- Verdejo will defend, tonight, the WBO Latino lightweight title. The same title was already held by the Brazilian Willian Silva, who won the belt in June of 2014, after defeating Pablo Martin Barboza, from Argentina, fighting in Capivari, São Paulo, Brazil. The Brazilian fighter has never defended his title, alleging financial issues for not being able to do it. 8- The bizarre facts of more than one boxer having the same belt aren’t an exclusivity of WBA and IBF. Even with Verdejo defending actively his WBO Latino belt 2 times last year, after winning the title in April, the WBO authorized Argentinian Horácio Alfredo Cabral to fight for an interim version of the title on last December. Cabral defeated his compatriot Sebastian Ezequiel Aguirre in that occasion, and will defend his interim Latino title on next week, against German Argentino Benitez. 9- The trainers of tonight’s fight were born in the same place of birth that the fighters. On Verdejo’s side, we have Puerto Rican Ricky Martinez, who acts as trainer and manager. Marquez works with Verdejo since the young boxer started his career, at 9 years old. On the other side, Willian Silva will have in his corner Brazilian Aluísio Silva, his father, who have always trained him. His other trainer is another Brazilian: Gabriel de Oliveira, who is Servílio de Oliveira’s son. 10- The betting exchanges show a big favoritism for Verdejo. Some odds are paid in proportions of 60-1. As we discussed earlier this week, betting on Willian Silva may bring a good risk/return ratio… http://round13.com.br/?pg=conteudo&artigo=262

Vasyl Lomachenko has an almost perfect amateur record of 396-1, losing just one bout to Albert Selimov (loss that was avenged twice by the Ukrainian boxer). But, in 2011, during the AIBA World Boxing Championship, he lost a fight to Brazil's Robson Conceição. Robson won by 20-19. The Ukrainian Boxing Federation complained about a point deduction suffered by Lomachenko for a low-blow, and also suggested that the Brazilian boxer had committed a fault in the final round for clinching in excess. The day after, an AIBA jury accepted the protest, overturning the result and giving Lomachenko the win. Robson is considered the main Brazilian amateur boxer nowadays. Afther that episode, he won a silver medal in 2013 World Championship and a bronze medal in 2015 Word Championship, both as lightweight. He is also the first Brazilian classified for 2016 Olympic Games, that are going to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. That's an interview with the Brazilian fighter, where he talked about the main highlights of his career, like the winning over Vasyl Lomachenko in 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championship (which was later overturned), and also about his expectations for Rio-2016. http://round13.com.br/?pg=conteudo&entrevista=241 Here's a link for the bout between Conceição and Lomachenko in 2011 World Championship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAuTL3RP7kM

Nice interview with the Brazilian boxer Willian "Baby Face" Silva, who will face Felix Verdejo on February 27. http://round13.com.br/?pg=conteudo&entrevista=233