Curtis Cokes (June 15, 1937 – May 29, 2020) was a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

from

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

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. 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 neith ...

. 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 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

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, 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

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Cokes outpointed Manuel Gonzalez to become world welterweight champion. On November 28 of 1966, he retained the crown against

Jean Josselin Jean Josselin (6 January 1940 – 7 February 2021) was a French welterweight boxer. He competed at the 1960 Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 1961 European Amateur Boxing Championships. After that he turned professional and won his first 1 ...

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, who was recognized as champion in

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. He knocked Shipes out in eight rounds in Oakland. 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, 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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He retired after a ten round decision win against Ezra Mnzinyane 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 Ikemefula Charles "Ike" Ibeabuchi (born February 2, 1973) is a Nigerian former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 1999 in the heavyweight division. He defeated the previously undefeated highly ranked contender David Tua in 1997 and anot ...

. Cokes also made one film appearance in the year of his retirement. He appeared in the 1972 John Huston film '' Fat City'' alongside future

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 ind ...

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 ac ...

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 I ...

Death

Cokes died at age 82 of heart failure on May 29, 2020.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cokes, Curtis 1937 births 2020 deaths American male boxers African-American boxers 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people Sportspeople from Dallas Boxers from Texas World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions The Ring (magazine) champions Welterweight boxers World welterweight boxing champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees