Don Jordan


Don Jordan was a boxer born in Los Angeles, California and was the Welterweight Champion of the World from 1958 to 1960. His nickname was ‘Geronimo’. He was of Mexican and African American descent.

Career

Born 22 June 1934 in Los Angeles, Jordan’s brief spell as an amateur shows that he began boxing as a Middleweight and – unusually – worked his way down to Welterweight as a professional. His amateur career spanned just fifteen contests, of which he lost only one.
Jordan fought professionally for the first time in April, 1953. Standing 5 feet 9 inches and typically weighing around 147 lbs, Jordan was well-proportioned and quickly showed himself to be an effective performer, winning nine in a row before dropping a decision in March 1954, to a fighter he had out-pointed just two months previously. He beat Art Ramponi to pick up the California State Welterweight title in October of that year and opened his 1955 campaign with a victory over former World Lightweight Champion Lauro Salas. From that point on, Jordan would be mixing it with the best.
Jordan’s progress over the next three years – including two notable victories over Gaspar Ortega – were rewarded when he challenged Virgil Akins for the World Welterweight Championship on 5 December 1958, winning by unanimous decision. Akins – who disputed the decision – would suffer an identical reverse when he met Jordan in a championship return five months later. That was the first of Jordan’s two successful title defences, before losing the title to Benny Paret, eighteen months after being crowned.
Once he lost his title, Jordan also seemed to lose his way. The last years of his career saw him record more defeats than victories and he was effectively – if ignominiously – ‘retired’ by the man refereeing his October 1962 contest with Battling Torres. When Jordan refused to get up after a knockdown in the Seventh, referee Jimmy Wilson ruled that Torres had not actually hit Jordan hard enough to put him down and the fight was declared a ‘no contest’. Subsequently, the California State Athletic Commission suspended Jordan indefinitely. In 1961 Lucchese crime family mobster Frankie Carbo, known as "the Czar of Boxing" was charged with extortion and conspiracy regarding Jordan, convicted and given a 25-year federal sentence. Others convicted were Louis Tom Dragna, Truman Gibson, Joe Sica, and Frank "Blinky" Palermo.

Death

After being robbed and seriously assaulted in a Los Angeles parking lot in September 1996, Don Jordan went into a coma, and died in a nursing home in San Pedro, California, on 13 February 1997.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
76NC51–23–1 Battling TorresPTS10Oct 05, 1962 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
75Loss51–22–1 Giancarlo GarbelliPTS10Apr 27, 1962 Palazzetto dello Sport, Roma
74Loss51–21–1 Tony DeMarcoKO2 Dec 19, 1961 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento
73Loss51–20–1 Rodolfo DiazUD10Nov 14, 1961 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento
72Loss51–19–1 Hilario MoralesTKO7 Aug 15, 1961 Ciudad Juarez
71Loss51–18–1 Benny MedinaUD10Aug 01, 1961 Kearney Bowl, Fresno
70Loss51–17–1 Carmen BasilioUD10Mar 11, 1961 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse
69Loss51–16–1 Ludwig LightburnPTS10Nov 26, 1960 Mexicali
68Draw51–15–1 Julian ValdezPTS10Oct 16, 1960 Mexicali
67Win51–15 Julian ValdezMD10Aug 16, 1960 Hi Corbett Field, Tucson
66Win51–15 Jesse BogartKO1 Aug 06, 1960 Nogales
65Loss50–15 Phil MoyerUD10Jul 15, 1960 Auditorium, Portland
64Loss50–14 Benny Kid ParetUD15May 27, 1960 Convention Center, Las Vegas Lost The Ring and lineal welterweight titles
63Loss50–13 Candy McFarlandUD10May 16, 1960 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
62Loss50–12 Luis Federico ThompsonKO4 Dec 12, 1959 Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires
61Win50–11 Fernando BarretoPTS10Dec 05, 1959 Ginásio Estadual do Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo
60Win49–11 Denny MoyerUD15Jul 10, 1959 Meadows Race Track, Portland Retained The Ring and lineal welterweight titles
59Win48–11 Virgil AkinsUD15Apr 24, 1959 Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis Retained The Ring and lineal welterweight titles
58Win47–11 Alvaro GutierrezTKO3 Jan 02, 1959 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
57Win46–11 Virgil AkinsUD15Dec 05, 1958 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles Won The Ring and lineal welterweight titles
56Win45–11 Gaspar OrtegaSD12Oct 22, 1958 Lafayette Hotel, Long Beach
55Win44–11 Gaspar OrtegaSD10Sep 17, 1958 Madison Square Garden, New York
54Win43–11 Lahouari GodihUD10Aug 29, 1958 Madison Square Garden, New York
53Win42–11 Issac LogartSD10Jul 02, 1958 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
52Win41–11 Alfredo CotaPTS10May 18, 1958 Mexicali
51Win40–11 Kid CentellaKO2 May 05, 1958 Plaza de Toros, Tijuana
50Win39–11 Francisco EchevarriaTKO3 Apr 15, 1958 Mexicali
49Win38–11 Karl Heinz GuderSD10Feb 15, 1958 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
48Loss37–11 Dave CharnleyPTS10Jan 28, 1958 Harringay Arena, Harringay
47Win37–10 Willie MortonMD10Jan 04, 1958 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
46Win36–10 Ray PortillaTKO6 Nov 29, 1957 Coliseum, San Diego
45Win35–10 Orlando ZuluetaUD10Oct 12, 1957 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
44Win34–10 Juan PadillaUD10Aug 12, 1957 Tijuana
43Win33–10 Alfredo CotaKO1 Jul 23, 1957 Tijuana
42Win32–10 Arnoldo GilKO2 Jul 15, 1957 Plaza de Toros, Tijuana
41Win31–10 Arnoldo GilKO2 Jul 15, 1957 Plaza de Toros, Tijuana
40Loss30–10 LC MorganUD10Jun 15, 1957 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
39Win30–9 Jesse BogartKO1 May 11, 1957 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
38Win29–9 Ezequiel UribePTS10Mar 19, 1957 Mexico City
37Loss28–9 Charley Tombstone SmithUD12Jan 24, 1957 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
36Loss28–8 Al NevarezPTS10Jan 01, 1957 Mexicali
35Win28–7 Archie WhitewaterUD10Dec 27, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
34Win27–7 Enrique EsquedaKO1 Nov 18, 1956 Mexicali
33Loss26–7 Orlando ZuluetaMD10Oct 16, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
32Win26–6 Frankie SkidmoreTKO7 Jun 28, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
31Win25–6 Timmie JeffersonUD10Jun 07, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
30Loss24–6 Joey LopesSD12May 05, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
29Loss24–5 Jimmy CarterUD10Mar 29, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
28Win24–4 Paddy DeMarcoTKO5 Feb 02, 1956 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
27Loss23–4 Art AragonUD10Dec 15, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
26Win23–3 Woody WinslowUD10Oct 20, 1955 Winterland Arena, San Francisco
25Win22–3 Woody WinslowUD10Sep 03, 1955 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
24Win21–3 Joe MiceliUD10Aug 18, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
23Loss20–3 Art AragonUD10Jun 02, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
22Win20–2 Lauro SalasSD12Mar 31, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
21Win19–2 Frankie CockrellUD10Mar 03, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
20Win18–2 Gaby MaciasUD10Feb 15, 1955 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento
19Win17–2 Lauro SalasUD12Jan 13, 1955 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
18Win16–2 Manny RenteriaKO7 Nov 29, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
17Win15–2 Art RamponiUD12Oct 04, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
16Win14–2 Billy HartmanTKO4 Sep 20, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
15Win13–2 Art RamponiUD10Aug 30, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
14Win12–2 Freddie HermanSD10Jun 28, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
13Loss11–2 Dickie WongUD10May 31, 1954 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
12Win11–1 Manuel MontesTKO2 Apr 17, 1954 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
11Loss10–1 Andy EscobarUD10Mar 20, 1954 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
10Win10–0 Raul EsquedaPTS10Feb 01, 1954 Mexicali
9Win9–0 Andy EscobarUD10Jan 16, 1954 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
8Win8–0 David CervantesUD6Dec 16, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
7Win7–0 Marvin SmithTKO5 Nov 07, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
6Win6–0 Marvin SmithTKO5 Oct 17, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
5Win5–0 Gaby MaciasTKO5 Sep 26, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
4Win4–0 Chi Chi MartinezPTS4Aug 08, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
3Win3–0 Chi Chi MartinezUD6Jul 04, 1953 Legion Stadium, Hollywood
2Win2–0 Al BarberoPTS4May 18, 1953 Arena, South Gate
1Win1–0 Ray SernaPTS4Apr 27, 1953 Arena, South Gate