| Curtis Cokes | |
| Weight: | Welterweight |
| Birth Date: | June 15, 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 80 |
| Wins: | 62 |
| Ko: | 30 |
| Losses: | 14 |
| Draws: | 4 |
| No Contests: | 0 |
Curtis Cokes (June 15, 1937 – May 29, 2020) was a boxer from Dallas, Texas, United States. Cokes was the simultaneous WBA, WBC and The Ring World Welterweight Champion,[1] and he was famous for his training regimen, which he also imposed on other boxers training with him.
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. 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 Los Angeles, California, on August 27, 1964, he announced his retirement. However, on October 14 of that year, he announced he was returning to boxing.
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. Cokes outpointed Manuel Gonzalez to become world welterweight champion. On November 28, 1966, he retained the crown against Jean Josselin of France in a fifteen-round decision. Nat Fleischer 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 California. 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.
Cokes lost the world welterweight title on April 18, 1969, when he was knocked out by Cuban José Nápoles 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. He retired after a ten-round decision win against Ezra Mnzinyane on October 5, 1972.
Cokes had a record of 62 wins, 14 losses and four draws, with 30 wins by knockout.
After retiring, Cokes became a trainer. He worked with fighters such as Quincy Taylor and Ike Ibeabuchi.
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 winner Jeff Bridges and Stacy Keach.[2]
In 2003, Cokes was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Cokes died at age 82 of heart failure on May 29, 2020.[3]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Win | 62–14–4 | Ezra Mzinyane | PTS | 10 | Oct 5, 1972 | |||
| 79 | Win | 61–14–4 | Joseph Hali | PTS | 10 | Sep 23, 1972 | |||
| 78 | Loss | 60–14–4 | Elijah Makhathini | PTS | 10 | Sep 9, 1972 | |||
| 77 | Loss | 60–13–4 | Carlos Alberto Salinas | SD | 10 | Dec 2, 1971 | |||
| 76 | Loss | 60–12–4 | Rafael Gutierrez | SD | 10 | May 24, 1972 | |||
| 75 | Draw | 60–11–4 | Fate Davis | PTS | 10 | Mar 17, 1971 | |||
| 74 | Win | 60–11–3 | Billy Braggs | TKO | 6 (10) | Nov 3, 1970 | |||
| 73 | Win | 59–11–3 | Harold Richardson | UD | 10 | Sep 29, 1970 | |||
| 72 | Win | 58–11–3 | Fate Davis | UD | 10 | Sep 11, 1970 | |||
| 71 | Win | 57–11–3 | Danny Perez | TKO | 7 (10) | Aug 10, 1970 | |||
| 70 | Win | 56–11–3 | Roberto Pena | KO | 5 (10) | Jan 27, 1970 | |||
| 69 | Loss | 55–11–3 | José Nápoles | RTD | 10 (15) | Jun 29, 1969 | |||
| 68 | Loss | 55–10–3 | José Nápoles | RTD | 13 (15) | Apr 18, 1969 | |||
| 67 | Win | 55–9–3 | Don Cobbs | KO | 1 (10) | Feb 10, 1969 | |||
| 66 | Win | 54–9–3 | Ramon La Cruz | UD | 15 | Oct 21, 1968 | |||
| 65 | Win | 53–9–3 | Joseph Sishi | KO | 5 (10) | Jul 5, 1968 | |||
| 64 | Win | 52–9–3 | Willie Ludick | TKO | 3 (10) | Jun 29, 1968 | |||
| 63 | Win | 51–9–3 | Joe N'Gidi | RTD | 4 (10) | Jun 15, 1968 | |||
| 62 | Win | 50–9–3 | Willie Ludick | TKO | 5 (15) | Apr 16, 1968 | |||
| 61 | Win | 49–9–3 | Jimmy Lester | UD | 10 | Mar 15, 1968 | |||
| 60 | Win | 48–9–3 | Jean Josselin | UD | 10 | Feb 5, 1968 | |||
| 59 | Win | 47–9–3 | Charley Shipes | TKO | 8 (15) | Oct 2, 1967 | |||
| 58 | Win | 46–9–3 | Francois Pavilla | TKO | 10 (15) | May 19, 1967 | |||
| 57 | Loss | 45–9–3 | Gypsy Joe Harris | UD | 10 | Mar 31, 1967 | |||
| 56 | Win | 45–8–3 | Mike Cruz | KO | 3 (10) | Feb 20, 1967 | |||
| 55 | Draw | 44–8–3 | Francois Pavilla | PTS | 10 | Jan 23, 1967 | |||
| 54 | Win | 44–8–2 | Jean Josselin | UD | 15 | Nov 28, 1966 | |||
| 53 | Win | 43–8–2 | Enrique Cruz | KO | 7 (10) | Sep 27, 1966 | |||
| 52 | Win | 42–8–2 | Manuel Gonzalez | UD | 15 | Aug 24, 1966 | |||
| 51 | Win | 41–8–2 | Luis Manuel Rodriguez | TKO | 15 (15) | Jul 6, 1966 | |||
| 50 | Win | 40–8–2 | Billy Collins | UD | 12 | Dec 13, 1965 | |||
| 49 | Win | 39–8–2 | Fortunato Manca | PTS | 10 | Apr 23, 1965 | |||
| 48 | Win | 38–8–2 | Marshall Wells | TKO | 12 (12) | Mar 15, 1965 | |||
| 47 | Loss | 37–8–2 | Eddie Pace | PTS | 10 | Aug 27, 1964 | |||
| 46 | Win | 37–7–2 | Al Andrews | PTS | 10 | Aug 10, 1964 | |||
| 45 | Win | 36–7–2 | Al Andrews | UD | 10 | Jun 9, 1964 | |||
| 44 | Win | 35–7–2 | Tony Montano | UD | 10 | May 12, 1964 | |||
| 43 | Loss | 34–7–2 | Stanley Hayward | TKO | 4 (10) | May 1, 1964 | |||
| 42 | Win | 34–6–2 | Flory Olguin | TKO | 5 (12) | May 30, 1963 | |||
| 41 | Win | 33–6–2 | Stan Harrington | UD | 10 | May 21, 1963 | |||
| 40 | Loss | 32–6–2 | Jose Stable | UD | 10 | Apr 20, 1963 | |||
| 39 | Win | 32–5–2 | Joey Parks | KO | 5 (10) | Feb 25, 1963 | |||
| 38 | Win | 31–5–2 | Johnny Newman | KO | 2 (10) | Feb 11, 1963 | |||
| 37 | Win | 30–5–2 | Gregorio Ceniceros | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 10, 1962 | |||
| 36 | Win | 29–5–2 | Hubert Jackson | KO | 1 (10) | Nov 11, 1962 | |||
| 35 | Loss | 28–5–2 | Manuel Alvarez | UD | 10 | Sep 8, 1962 | |||
| 34 | Win | 28–4–2 | Joey Limas | UD | 10 | Aug 22, 1962 | |||
| 33 | Win | 27–4–2 | Rudolph Bent | KO | 8 (10) | May 11, 1962 | |||
| 32 | Win | 26–4–2 | Hilario Morales | TKO | 5 (10) | Apr 6, 1962 | |||
| 31 | Win | 25–4–2 | Kid Rayo | SD | 10 | Feb 13, 1962 | |||
| 30 | Win | 24–4–2 | Carlos Macias | TKO | 4 (10) | Jan 23, 1962 | |||
| 29 | Loss | 23–4–2 | Luis Manuel Rodríguez | UD | 10 | Dec 2, 1961 | |||
| 28 | Win | 23–3–2 | Manuel Gonzalez | UD | 10 | Sep 14, 1961 | |||
| 27 | Win | 22–3–2 | Luis Manuel Rodríguez | SD | 10 | Aug 3, 1961 | |||
| 26 | Draw | 21–3–2 | Kenny Lane | PTS | 10 | Jun 8, 1961 | |||
| 25 | Loss | 21–3–1 | Hilario Morales | UD | 10 | Apr 4, 1961 | |||
| 24 | Win | 21–2–1 | Charley Tombstone Smith | UD | 10 | Feb 13, 1961 | |||
| 23 | Win | 20–2–1 | Joe Miceli | UD | 10 | Jan 16, 1961 | |||
| 22 | Win | 19–2–1 | Stefan Redl | TKO | 8 (10) | Oct 24, 1960 | |||
| 21 | Win | 18–2–1 | Joe Louis Hargrove | TKO | 2 (10) | Sep 13, 1960 | |||
| 20 | Win | 17–2–1 | Pete Ruiz | TKO | 3 (8) | Jul 29, 1960 | |||
| 19 | Win | 16–2–1 | Lovell Jenkins | PTS | 8 | Mar 1, 1960 | |||
| 18 | Win | 15–2–1 | Aman Peck | TKO | 5 (8) | Dec 14, 1959 | |||
| 17 | Loss | 14–2–1 | Frankie Davis | SD | 6 | Dec 2, 1959 | |||
| 16 | Win | 14–1–1 | Mel Ferguson | UD | 8 | Sep 14, 1959 | |||
| 15 | Win | 13–1–1 | Reggie Williams | KO | 5 (6) | Aug 27, 1959 | |||
| 14 | Win | 12–1–1 | Rip Randall | KO | 1 (6) | Jul 27, 1959 | |||
| 13 | Draw | 11–1–1 | Rip Randall | TD | 2 (6) | May 18, 1959 | |||
| 12 | Loss | 11–1 | Manuel Gonzalez | SD | 10 | Apr 27, 1959 | |||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Henry Watson | PTS | 4 | Apr 1, 1959 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Babe McCarron | TKO | 3 (8) | Jan 20, 1959 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ruben Flores | PTS | 6 | Dec 1, 1958 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Manuel Gonzalez | SD | 8 | Nov 22, 1958 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Elmo Tex Henderson | UD | 6 | Oct 27, 1958 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Sammy Williams | TKO | 6 (6) | Jun 30, 1958 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Cecil Courtney | UD | 6 | May 26, 1958 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Babe Vance | UD | 6 | May 12, 1958 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jimmy Leach | UD | 6 | Apr 28, 1958 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Gil Tapia | PTS | 4 | Apr 7, 1958 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Manuel Gonzalez | PTS | 6 | Mar 24, 1958 |