José Becerra


Jesus "José" Becerra 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

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
75WinAlberto MartínezPTS613 Oct 1962Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
74Loss66–5–3Eloy SánchezKO8, 2:5230 Aug 1960Plaza de Toros, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
73Win66–4–3Chuy RodríguezTKO4 12 Aug 1960Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
72Win65–4–3Kenji YonekuraSD1523 May 1960Korakuen Baseball Stadium, Tokyo, JapanRetained NYSAC, NBA and The Ring bantamweight titles
71Win64–4–3Pimi BarajasTKO7 10 Apr 1960Estadio de la Revolución, Torreón, Mexico
70Win63–4–3Ward YeeUD1015 Mar 1960Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
69Win62–4–3Alphonse HalimiKO9, 0:484 Feb 1960Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained NYSAC, NBA and The Ring bantamweight titles
68Win61–4–3Héctor CeballosKO3 18 Dec 1959Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
67Win60–4–3Frankie DuranUD1012 Dec 1959Plaza de Toros, Nogales, Mexico
66Win59–4–3Walt IngramTKO9 24 Oct 1959Arena Coliseo, Guadalajara, Mexico
65Win58–4–3Alphonse HalimiKO8, 2:028 Jul 1959Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Won NYSAC, NBA and The Ring bantamweight titles
64Win57–4–3Billy PeacockKO1 20 Apr 1959Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
63Win56–4–3Chuy RodríguezKO4 19 Mar 1959Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
62Win55–4–3Mario D'AgataRTD10 5 Feb 1959Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
61Win54–4–3Ross PadillaKO130 Nov 1958Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
60Win53–4–3José Luis MoraKO5 25 Oct 1958Arena Canada Dry, Guadalajara, Mexico
59Win52–4–3Little CezarTKO4, 1:405 Sep 1958Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
58Win51–4–3Willie ParkerKO2 14 Aug 1958Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
57Win50–4–3Joey AugustinKO521 Jul 1958Tijuana, Baja California, U.S.
56Win49–4–3Gaetano AnnaloroTKO10 28 Jun 1958Arena Canada Dry, Guadalajara, Mexico
55Win48–4–3Charlie DeBowKO324 May 1958El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Mexico
54Win47–4–3Miguel LazuTKO7 12 Apr 1958Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
53Win46–4–3Héctor AgúndezPTS1031 Mar 1958Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
52Win45–4–3Dwight HawkinsTKO9 8 Mar 1958Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
51Win44–4–3José MedelPTS108 Feb 1958Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
50Win43–4–3Jorge HerreraKO4 25 Jan 1958Arema Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
49Loss42–4–3Dwight HawkinsKO4, 0:246 Nov 1957Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
48Win42–3–3Ramón Antonio CalatayudPTS1012 Oct 1957Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
47Draw41–3–3Raúl LeanosPTS1017 Aug 1957Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
46Win41–3–2Kid IrapuatoTKO8 1 Aug 1957Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
45Win40–3–2Johnny OrtegaTKO4 15 Jun 1957Cow Palace, Daly City, California, U.S.
44Win39–3–2José Luis MoraPTS1025 May 1957Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
43Win38–3–2Chuy RodríguezPTS1027 Apr 1957Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
42Win37–3–2Juan 'Lefty' PerezTKO4 2 Apr 1957Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico
41Win36–3–2José MedelPTS102 Mar 1957Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
40Win35–3–2José MedelPTS109 Feb 1957Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
39Win34–3–2Manuel ArmenterosPTS1012 Jan 1957Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
38Win33–3–2Jorge HerreraTKO7 1 Jan 1957Plaza de Toros Torreón, Mexico
37Win32–3–2Chuy GuerreroPTS107 Nov 1956Plaza de Toros, Torreón, Mexico
36Loss31–3–2Germán OhmUD1018 Oct 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
35Win31–2–2Memo SánchezPTS106 Sep 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
34Win30–2–2Jorge Gabino GómezDQ5 9 Aug 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, MexicoGómez was disqualified for going down voluntarily
33Win29–2–2Mario RuízPTS1021 Jun 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
32Win28–2–2Rogelio SaucedoPTS1031 May 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
31Win27–2–2Jorge ValverdeTKO7 11 May 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
30Win26–2–2Germán OhmRTD5 22 Mar 1956Arena Olímpico Laguna, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
29Loss25–2–2Cachorro MartínezPTS1018 Feb 1956Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
28Win25–1–2Antonio GuevaraKO1011 Feb 1956León, Guanajuato, Mexico
27Win24–1–2Rayito GarcíaPTS1015 Oct 1955Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
26Win23–1–2Antonio GuevaraKO108 Oct 1955León, Guanajuato, Mexico
25Win22–1–2Pepe VillaTKO74 Oct 1955Mexicco
24Win21–1–2Félix GaytánPTS1016 Jul 1955Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
23Win20–1–2Fili PresaKO42 Jul 1955León, Guanajuato, Mexico
22Win19–1–2Chava SantiagoKO6 27 Jun 1955Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
21Draw18–1–2Danny BedollaPTS1011 Jun 1955Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
20Win18–1–1Joe ChamacoKO5 28 May 1955Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
19Win17–1–1Chuy GuerreroKO4 5 Mar 1955Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
18Win16–1–1Marcelo GonzálezPTS812 Feb 1955Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
17Win15–1–1Kid SonoritaKO4 4 Dec 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
16Win14–1–1José Luis NavarroPTS618 Oct 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
15Win13–1–1Tomás CervantesTKO3 20 Sep 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
14Win12–1–1Mario LeónKO3 6 Sep 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
13Draw11–1–1José Luis NavarroPTS623 Aug 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
12Win11–1Kid PichilingoKO6 3 Aug 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
11Win10–1Alfredo EscalantePTS619 Jul 1954Arena Parque Oro, Guadalajara, Mexico
10Win9–1Pompeyo GutíerrezTKO3 3 Jul 1954Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
9Win8–1Raúl PérezKO2 12 Jun 1954Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
8Win7–1Jess MariscalKO2 5 Jun 1954Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
7Win6–1César ReynosoTKO4 15 May 1954Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
6Win5–1Rubén EspinosaPTS62 May 1954Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
5Win4–1Jorge PlascenciaPTS413 Mar 1954Arena Progreso, Guadalajara, Mexico
4Win3–1Raúl SalazarPTS624 Oct 1953Atemajac, Jalisco, Mexico
3Loss2–1Lorenzo IbarraPTS63 Oct 1953Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
2Win2–0Miguel EstradaKO5 6 Sep 1953Atemajac, Jalisco, Mexico
1Win1–0Ray GómezKO4 30 Aug 1953Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

The Ring bantamweight champion

Undisputed titles

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