Curtis Cokes (June 15, 1937 – May 29, 2020) was a boxer from
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. Cokes was the simultaneous WBA, WBC and '' The Ring'' World Welterweight Champion, and he was famous for his training regimen, which he also imposed on other boxers training with him.
Pre-championship career
On March 24, 1958, Cokes began to box professionally, defeating Manuel Gonzalez, whom he would later fight for the world title, in a six round decision. He won eleven fights in a row, including a second match with Gonzalez, before losing to Gonzalez in their third fight, on April 27, 1959. His next fight, against Garland Randall on June 18 of the same year, ended in a three round
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neithe ...
. He and Randall had an immediate rematch and on August 27, he knocked out Randall in the first round. He had an additional fourteen fights, going 11-2-1 in that span (his one draw was against Kenny Lane, a boxer who twice challenged
Carlos Ortiz Carlos Ortíz may refer to:
* Carlos Ortiz (boxer) (1936–2022), Puerto Rican boxer
* Carlos Escobar Ortiz (born 1989), Chilean footballer
* Carlos Ortiz (wrestler) (born 1974), retired wrestler from Cuba
* Carlos Arias Ortiz, Mexican biochemist ...
for world championships), before facing Luis Rodriguez, another world welterweight champion, on September 3, 1961. He beat Rodriguez by a ten round decision, outpointed Gonzalez in their fourth fight, and lost to Rodriguez in their second fight, also by points. He went 13-4 in his next seventeen fights, and, after losing in a ten round decision to Eddie Pace at
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
, on August 27, 1964, he announced his retirement. On October 14 of that year, however, he announced he was returning to boxing.
Championship
After winning three fights in a row, he and Gonzalez were matched for a fifth time, on August 24, 1966, this time for the WBA/ WBC vacant world welterweight title, in
Jean Josselin of France in a fifteen round decision.
Nat Fleischer
Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector.
Career
Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the '' ...
was one of the judges for that fight.
On May 19, 1967, he retained the title with a tenth round knockout of Francois Villeiman, and on October 2, he met
Charlie Shipes
Charlie may refer to:
Characters
* "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise
* Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
* ...
, who was recognized as champion in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. He knocked Shipes out in eight rounds in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
On April 18, 1968, he retained his title with a fifth round knockout of Willie Ludick, and on October 21, with a fifteen round decision over Ramon La Cruz.
Post-championship career
Cokes lost the world welterweight title on April 18 of 1969, being knocked out by Cuban
José Nápoles
José Ángel Nápoles, nicknamed ''Mantequilla'' ("Butter", referring to his smooth boxing style), (April 13, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was a Cuban-born Mexican professional boxer and a World Welterweight Champion. He is frequently ranked as one ...
in thirteen rounds, in Los Angeles. On June 29 the pair had a rematch, in Nápoles' adopted hometown of
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, and Nápoles repeated his victory, this time by a tenth round knockout.
Cokes had eleven more fights before retiring, winning seven, losing three and drawing in one. His last three fights were in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. He retired after a ten round decision win against
Ezra Mnzinyane
Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe ('' sofer'') and priest ('' kohen''). In Greco- Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδ� ...
on October 5 of 1972.
Cokes had a record of 62 wins, 14 losses and four draws, with 30 wins by knockout.
After boxing
Cokes became a trainer after he retired. Some of the fighters he worked with include Quincy Taylor and Ike Ibeabuchi.
Cokes also made one film appearance in the year of his retirement. He appeared in the 1972
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...
winner
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
and
Stacy Keach
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fiction ...
.
In 2003, Cokes was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The ...
.
Death
Cokes died at age 82 of heart failure on May 29, 2020.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of world welterweight boxing champions
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...