Jesus "José" Becerra (15 April 1936 – 6 August 2016) was a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He became world champion in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division. Becerra was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, 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 Mario D'Agata (29 May 1926 – 4 April 2009) was an Italian professional boxer, who was the first, and so far only, deaf world champion in boxing. He was a lineal, European, and Italian bantamweight champion. Early life D'Agata was born on 29 M ...

. A short time later, Becerra won the Lineal bantamweight championship with a knockout over

Alphonse Halimi Alphonse Halimi (February 18, 1932 – November 12, 2006) was a French boxer. He took the World Bantamweight Championship on April 1, 1957, in Paris, and the European Bantamweight Championship three years later. Early life He was born in Consta ...

. 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.

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

References

External links

*Dan Cuoc
Bio Article
*

1936 births Bantamweight boxers Boxers from Guadalajara, Jalisco 2016 deaths Mexican male boxers 20th-century Mexican people {{Mexico-boxing-bio-stub

Professional career

Exhibition Tour

See also

References

External links