Harry Jeffra

Harry Jeffra (born Ignacius Pasquale Guiffi on November 30, 1914 – September 1988) was an American boxer.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he became a World Bantamweight and NYSAC World Featherweight boxing champion.

According to Jeffra, he began boxing in 1929 at age fifteen, though his amateur career was rather dismal, fighting twenty-eight amateur bouts, and losing twenty seven.

Apparently his boxing fortunes changed for the better once turning professional around eighteen, and particularly after finding manager Max Wacman.

Jeffra's career spanned from 1933 to 1950, and his final record showed 93 wins with (27 by KOs), 20 losses, and 7 draws.

Fighting exclusively in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland as a professional between September 22, 1933, and August 2, 1935, he won twenty-six fights with only one draw and not a single loss.

On December 9, 1936, Jeffra first met the reigning World Bantamweight champion Sixto Escobar.

Though barely 23 years old, Jeffra was awarded a 10-round decision at New York's Hippodrome.

Both fighters boxed close to the 120 pound mark, slightly over the Bantamweight limit.

It was an important early victory for a boxer aspiring to a world championship to beat a world champion, even if it was not in a title fight.

On May 13, 1937, he defeated Nicky Jerome handily at the New York Hippodrome.

Two right hand shots in the second round put Jerome on the mat twice, once for a count of seven and the second time, 1:26 into the second round, the referee stopped the fight.

On July 19, 1937, he defeated Ruby Bradley, a well known opponent, at Arena stadium in Philadelphia in a fourth-round technical knockout.

Jeffra captured the World Bantamweight title at age 23 by outpointing Puerto Rican great Sixto Escobar on September 23, 1937 in a fifteen-round points decision in New York's Polo Grounds.

A noteworthy source wrote that "he (Jeffra) deserved the decision by a wide margin, winning nine rounds to Escobar's two."

The evening included three championship prizefights in one night staged by promoter Mike Jacobs, and included a bout by boxing great Barney Ross.

The crowd numbered an extraordinary 32,600, though even more had been anticipated at Jacob's masterpiece of displayed boxing skill.

The bout was Jeffra's first fifteen-round battle, and exhausted after the win, he was jubilant, but expected to take a month off from training.

Jeffra, however, lost the title to Escobar in his home country in San Juan, Puerto, Rico, on February 20, 1938 in another classic fifteen round points decision before a crowd of around 13,000.

Winning by a large margin, and probably inspired by the home crowd, Escobar floored Jeffra twice in the eleventh and once in the fourteenth.

After the bout, Jeffra announced through his trainer that he would never again try to make the strict Bantamweight limit.

At least one source considered the restrictive dieting and heavy work outs required by Jeffra to make the 118 bantamweight limit, and the resulting lack of stamina, to be one of the causes of his loss to Escobar.

On September 17, 1938, Jeffra defeated Nicky Jerome in a sixth-round technical knockout at Ridgewood Grove in Brooklyn.

Jerome was an important opponent.

Jeffra then moved up in weight to featherweight, where he fought several bouts against Joey Archibald.

On September 28, 1939, Archibald won a very controversial split decision after 15 rounds against Jeffra.

Most writers scored the fight for Jeffra.

On May 20, 1940, Jeffra outpointed Archibald to win the NYSAC (New York) version of the World Featherweight Championship in a fifteen rounds unanimous decision in his hometown of Baltimore.

The title was also recognized by Maryland, and possibly California.

Jeffra won by a large margin before an impressive crowd of 4,500.

He came close to knocking out Archibald in the second where he scored three knockdowns using strong rights, two for counts of nine.

Though Archibald attempted comebacks in the eighth and ninth rounds with a strong showing, it was not enough to affect Jeffra's wide margin.

On July 29, 1940, he successfully defended his NYSAC World Featherweight Title against Spider Armstrong in a fifteen-round Unanimous Decision at Carlin's Park in Baltimore.

On November 19, 1940, he fought Bill Speary for the first time.

He lost in a ten-round somewhat close Unanimous Decision at the Kingston Armory in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

Most of the judges gave Speary only six rounds on points in the bout, though it was enough to win, as several of the remaining rounds were scored as draws.

Jeffra was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998.

His manager was Max Waxman and his trainer was Heinie Blaustein.

Jeffra was born on in Baltimore, Maryland.

He claimed to have changed his name from Ignatius Guiffie in the fourth grade, when his school principal said she couldn't pronounce it.