José Basora, born February 8 918], in
Lajas, Puerto RicoLajas is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in southwestern region, south of San Germán and Sabana Grande; east of Cabo Rojo; and west of Guánica. Lajas is spread over 11 wards and Lajas Pueblo...
, was a professional
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
. Basora was married to Emilia Rivera de Jesus for 44 years and had two children (Maria and Jose) and lived in New York City-the Bronx. Basora's wife died in 1988. José Basora died on January 3, 1993.
José Basora fought professionally for thirteen years. His career spanned three decades, starting in 1939 and ending in 1952.
Boxing career
Basora began fighting as a professional on January 7 1939, with a first round knockout over Artie Baker. He had three fights in one month, all of them wins. The first blemish to appear on his record was a four round draw (tie), against Joe Bologna on February 171939. Basora then had a streak of 25 wins in a row with eleven consecutive knockouts.
On March 2 1941, Basora met famed
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
n boxer Kid Tunero, losing for the first time in his career, when Tunero, who had 101 previous fights, defeated Basora by a ten round decision in Havana, Cuba. Basora split his next four fights (two wins and two losses) before meeting
Holman WilliamsHolman Williams was a world welterweight boxing contender.-Boxing career:Williams began boxing as an amateur in 1928 as a bantamweight and had a successful 38-bout career...
, on September 29 of the same year, in New York. Basora lost to Williams by a six round decision. On January 9 1942, he and Williams met again, with Williams once again winning by decision after six rounds.
Basora became a highly heralded boxer on the night of May 12 1942, when he held
Jake LaMottaGiacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former boxing world middleweight champion who was famously portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film Raging Bull....
to a ten round draw at New York. Basora and LaMotta met again on June 16, with Basora beating LaMotta by decision in ten rounds. On September 17, Basora met future world Heavyweight champion
Ezzard CharlesEzzard Mack Charles was an African-American professional boxer and former world heavyweight champion.He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnatian. Charles graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati where he was already becoming a well-known fighter...
; Basora was stopped by Charles in five rounds, suffering his first professional defeat by knockout.
Basora promptly returned to winning, resulting victorious in eight of his next nine fights, with one draw. Then, on June 17 1943, he fought Andy Holland in
West Springfield, MassachusettsThe Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 27,899 at the 2000 census...
, with their bout declared a
no contestNo contest is a technical term used in the sport of boxing, to describe a fight which ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands. Various reasons could be used for a fight to be ruled a no contest, but the rules that dictate whether a fight should be called a no contest, a disqualification, or a...
due to the heavy
rainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
that fell that day, as the contest was held in an outdoor arena, with the rain making visibility very hard for the contestants.
On August 9, Basora avenged his previous defeats at the hands of Williams, by outpointing him over eight rounds in
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
. On September 17, however, he and LaMotta fought for a third time, with LaMotta winning by a ten round decision. Almost one month later, on October 15, Basora defeated
Fritzie ZivicFritzie Zivic , born as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich , was an American boxer.-Biography:...
, another world champion boxer, by a unanimous decision in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. Zivic had come into their encounter with 175 previous fights, of which he had won 131.
José Basora won three more fights, then he lost a fourth fight against Holman Williams, being outpointed by his arch-rival on April 10 1944 over ten rounds, at
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
. Basora then reeled off a streak of three more wins before meeting Williams for a fifth time. Williams and Basora drew over ten rounds on October 2 in Philadelphia. Basora soon returned to the ring, beating another heralded contender of the era, Al Jonson, over ten rounds by decision on October 30.
His next fight has been described by boxing historians as Basora's finest moment, an opinion that has been argued as other boxing historians claim that his win over LaMotta should be held as Basora's best moment. Regardless, Basora met
Sugar Ray Robinson'Sugar Ray Robinson was a professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances at the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
for the first time on May 14 1945. holding the man considered by many to be boxing's all time best fighter to a ten round draw in Philadelphia. On his next fight, Basora took on LaMotta for the fourth time; this time around, LaMotta stopped Basora in the ninth round, on August 10 of the same year.
Basora made his
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
debut on January 29 1946, when he outpointed Carlos Perez after ten rounds. Basora held six consecutive bouts in
San JuanSan Juan is the capital and largest municipality in Puerto Rico. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 433,733, making it the 42nd-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
, building on an already existing fan base in the island-country. On March 17, he beat Mario Raul Ochoa for the "Middleweight championship of the Antilles" in ten rounds by decision. Basora and Ochoa had an immediate rematch, without Basora's newly won belt at stake, on July 4, at San Juan, and Basora won by a third round knockout.
On June 10 1947, Basora met popular fighter Bobby Richardson at
Youngstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County, whose urban area borders Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, outpointing Richardson over ten rounds. Just seventeen days later, Basora returned to Detroit, where he faced Tommy Yarosz, a top ranked fighter of the time. Basora lost by a ten round decision. Fans at the fight protested the decision. The fight, however, took a rather dramatic turn after it was over, as Basora collapsed in his dressing room and required
hospitalA hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays....
ization. He was diagnosed with fainting due to the blows received against Yarosz.
Only four months later, Basora returned to the ring. After a win, he faced Holman Williams for the sixth time, on November 3 in San Juan. Basora outpointed Williams over ten rounds. Basora made two more fights, and he then met Williams for a seventh time, on March 3 1948 in Chicago, Illinois. Basora beat Williams by a fourth round knockout, after Williams suffered a cut on his mouth.
On March 2, 1949, Basora met Henry Brimm, who was 23-8-3 coming into their bout, held at
Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is known as the home of the University of Miami.The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census...
. Basora outpointed Brimm over ten rounds. By that time, Basora had been ranked as the world's top Middleweight challenger for some period. Basora defeated Brimm again, by a ten round decision, on May 4 at New York.
After winning one fight and losing another one, Basora got his first try at a world title, when he faced Sugar Ray Robinson in their rematch, for Robinson's
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
's world Middleweight title (the bout was recognized as a world championship fight only by the Pennsylvania state athletic commission), on August 25 1950 in
ScrantonScranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to figures released by the United States Census Bureau in 2000,...
. This fight was historic, because Robinson established a record for the quickest knockout in a world title bout, defeating Basora only 50 seconds after the bout started. This record stood for 38 years.
Basora went on boxing for two more years. Well past his prime, however, he lost five of his next six bouts, including one against Holly Mims and another one against
Rocky MarcianoRocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956, when he retired as the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire having won every fight in his professional career.- Early years :Marciano was an...
rival,
Harry MatthewsHarry Holland Matthews was a Labour Party councillor who stood for Parliament of the United Kingdom and an early member of the Militant Group. As an engineer working for Fairey Aviation Company he acted as Union steward. The last time he voted, was for Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party....
. After losing by a ten round decision to
FrenchmanFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Robert VillemainRobert Villemain was a French boxer. Villemain defeated Hall of Famers Kid Gavilan and Jake LaMotta during his career, and lost his Pennsylvania middleweight title to Sugar Ray Robinson in 1950....
, who himself was once only 15 seconds away from lifting the world Middleweight title from Jake LaMotta before losing by knockout in the last round, Basora retired permanently from boxing. His loss to Villemain took place on June 16 1952, in Brooklyn.
Basora had a record of 77 wins, 20 losses and 7 draws, with one no-contest and 44 knockout wins in 105 bouts.
External links
- http://forum.boxrec.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=103823