Ezzard Charles

Ezzard Charles

Statistics
Real name	Ezzard Mack Charles
Nickname(s)	Cincinnati Cobra
Rated at	Middleweight Light heavyweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Reach	73 in (185 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1921-07-07)July 7, 1921 Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S.
Died	May 28, 1975(1975-05-28) (aged 53) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	119
Wins	93
Wins by KO	52
Losses	25
Draws	1
No contests	0

Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975) was an American professional boxer and former World Heavyweight Champion.

Charles defeated numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. He retired with a record of 93 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw.

Career

He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnatian.^[1] Charles graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati where he was already becoming a well-known fighter.^[2] Known as "The Cincinnati Cobra", Charles fought many notable opponents in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, eventually winning the World Championship in the latter. Although he never won the Light Heavyweight title, The Ring has rated him as the greatest light heavyweight of all time.^[3]

Career beginnings and military service

Charles started his career as a featherweight in the amateurs, where he had a record of 42–0. In 1938, he won the Diamond Belt Middleweight Championship. He followed this up in 1939 by winning the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament of champions. He won the national AAU Middleweight Championship in 1939. He turned pro in 1940, knocking out Melody Johnson in the 4th round. Charles won all of his first 15 fights before being defeated by veteran Ken Overlin. Victories over future Hall of Famers Teddy Yarosz and the much avoided Charley Burley had started to solidify Charles as a top contender in the middleweight division. However, he served in the U.S. military during World War II and was unable to fight professionally in 1945.

World heavyweight champion

He returned to boxing after the war as a light heavyweight, picking up many notable wins over leading light heavyweights, as well as heavyweight contenders Archie Moore, Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall and Elmer Ray. Shortly after his knock-out of Moore in their third and final meeting, tragedy struck. Charles fought a young contender named Sam Baroudi, knocking him out in Round 10. Baroudi died of the injuries he sustained in this bout. Charles was so devastated he almost gave up fighting. Charles was unable to secure a title shot at light heavyweight and moved up to heavyweight. After knocking out Joe Baksi and Johnny Haynes, Charles won the vacant National Boxing Association Heavyweight title when he outpointed Jersey Joe Walcott over 15 rounds on June 22, 1949. The following year, he outpointed his idol and former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis to become the recognized Lineal Champion. Successful defenses against Walcott, Lee Oma and Joey Maxim would follow.

Charles vs. Marciano

In 1951, Charles fought Walcott a third time and lost the title by knockout in the seventh round. Charles lost a controversial decision in their fourth and final bout. If Charles had won this fight, he would have become the first man in history to regain the heavyweight championship. Remaining a top contender with wins over Rex Layne, Tommy Harrison and Coley Wallace, Charles knocked out Bob Satterfield in an eliminator bout for the right to challenge Heavyweight Champion Rocky Marciano. His two stirring battles with Marciano are regarded as ring classics. In the first bout, held in June 1954, he valiantly took Marciano the distance, going down on points in a vintage heavyweight bout. Charles is the only man ever to last the full 15-round distance against Marciano. A number of fans and boxing writers felt that Charles deserved the decision.^[4] In their September rematch, Charles landed a severe blow that literally split Marciano's nose in half. Marciano's cornermen were unable to stop the bleeding and the referee almost halted the contest until Marciano rallied with an 8th-round knockout.

Later career

Financial problems forced Charles to continue fighting, losing 13 of his final 23 fights (He held a record of 83 wins, 12 losses and 1 draws before financial problems became a factor in his career). He retired with a record of 93-25-1 (52 KOs).

Charles was also a respected double bass player who played with some of the jazz greats in the 1940s and 1950s at such notable places as Birdland (jazz composer George Russell wrote the famous tune "Ezz-Thetic" in his honor). He was very close with Rocky Marciano and a neighbor and friend of Muhammad Ali when they both lived on 85th Street in Chicago.^[5] Charles also starred in one motion picture: Mau Mau Drums, an independent (and unreleased) jungle-adventure film shot in and around Cincinnati in 1960 by filmmaker Earl Schwieterman.

Death

In 1968, Charles was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease affected Charles' legs and eventually left him completely disabled. A fund raiser was held to assist Charles and many of his former opponents spoke on his behalf. Rocky Marciano in particular called Charles the bravest man he ever fought. The former boxer spent his last days in a nursing home. A chilling 1973 commercial showed Charles in his wheelchair horribly disabled by the disease. Charles died on May 28, 1975, in Chicago.

Legacy

Commemorative stamp honoring Charles

In 1976, Cincinnati honored Charles by changing the name of Lincoln Park Drive to Ezzard Charles Drive. This was the street of his residence during the height of his career.^[6]

He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2002, Charles was ranked #13 on The Ring magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.

In 2006, Ezzard Charles was named the 11th greatest fighter of all time by the IBRO (International Boxing Research Organisation).^[7]

The "Cincinnati Cobra" was a master boxer of extraordinary skill and ability. He had speed, agility, fast hands and excellent footwork. Charles possessed a masterful jab and was a superb combination puncher. He was at his peak as a light-heavyweight. His record is quite impressive. Against top rate opposition like Archie Moore, Charley Burley, Lloyd Marshall, Jimmy Bivins, and Joey Maxim he was an impressive 16-2 combined. Despite being a natural light-heavy he won the heavyweight title and made 9 successful title defenses. Nearly 25% of voters had Charles in the top 10. Half of the voters had him in the top 15. Two thirds of voters had him inside the top 20.

In 2007, ESPN online ranks Ezzard Charles as the 27th greatest boxer of all time, ahead of such notable fighters as Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes and Jake LaMotta.^[8]

In 2009, Boxing magazine listed Ezzard Charles as the greatest Light Heavyweight fighter ever, ahead of the likes of Archie Moore, Bob Foster, Michael Spinks and Gene Tunney.^[9]

Prominent boxing historian Bert Sugar listed Charles as the 7th greatest Heavyweight of all time.

Professional boxing record

93 Wins (52 knockouts, 41 decisions), 25 Losses^[10]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	93–16	Toxie Hall	UD	10	1955-12-06	Rochester, New York, United States
Loss	92–16	Toxie Hall	UD	10	1955-11-14	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Loss	92–15	Tommy Hurricane Jackson	UD	10	1955-08-31	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss	92–14	Tommy Hurricane Jackson	UD	10 (10)	1955-08-03	Syracuse, New York, United States
Win	92–13	Paul Andrews	UD	10 (12)	1955-07-13	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	91–13	Johnny Holman	UD	10 (10)	1955-06-08	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss	90–13	Johnny Holman	KO	9	1955-04-27	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	90-12	Vern Escoe	UD	10	1955-04-11	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Win	89–12	Charley Norkus	UD	10	1955-02-18	New York, New York, United States
Loss	88–12	Rocky Marciano	KO	8 (10)	1954-09-17	New York, New York, United States
Loss	88–11	Rocky Marciano	UD	15	1954-06-17	New York, New York, United States
Win	88–10	Bob Satterfield	KO	2 (10)	1954-01-13	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	87–10	Coley Wallace	KO	10	1953-12-16	San Francisco, California, United States
Loss	86–10	Harold Johnson	UD	10	1953-09-08	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	86–9	Nino Valdez	UD	12	1953-08-11	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	86–8	Larry Watson	KO	5 (12)	1953-05-26	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Win	85–8	Billy Gilliam	UD	10 (12)	1953-05-12	Toledo, Ohio, United States
Win	84–8	Rex Layne	UD	10 (12)	1953-04-01	San Francisco, California, United States
Win	83–8	Tommy Harrison	SD	12	1953-02-04	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Harrison suffers the first knockdown of his career in round 11.
Win	82–8	Wesbury Bascom	TKO	9 (12)	1953-01-14	St.Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	81–8	Frank Buford	TKO	7 (10)	1952-12-15	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	80–8	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	1952-11-26	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	79–8	Cesar Brion	UD	10	1952-10-24	New York, New York, United States
Win	78–8	Bernie Reynolds	KO	2 (10)	1952-10-08	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss	77–8	Rex Layne	UD	10	1952-08-08	Ogden, Utah, United States
Loss	77–7	Jersey Joe Walcott	UD	15	1952-06-05	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	For World Heavyweight title.
Win	77–6	Joe Kahut	KO	8 (10)	1951-12-21	Portland, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	76–6	Joey Maxim	UD	15	1951-12-12	San Francisco, California, United States
Win	75–6	Rex Layne	TKO	11 (12)	1951-10-10	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss	74–6	Jersey Joe Walcott	KO	7 (12)	1951-07-18	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States	Lost World Heavyweight title. Ring Magazine Fight of the Year for 1951.
Win	74–5	Joey Maxim	UD	15	1951-05-30	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	73–5	Jersey Joe Walcott	UD	15	1951-03-07	Detroit, Michigan, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	72–5	Lee Oma	TKO	10 (15)	1951-01-12	New York, New York, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	71–5	Nick Barone	KO	11	1950-12-05	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	70–5	Joe Louis	UD	15 (10)	1950-09-27	New York, New York, United States	Retained NBA Heavyweight title. Declared sole Heavyweight champion following the fight.
Win	69–5	Freddie Beshore	TKO	14 (12)	1950-08-15	Buffalo, New York, United States	Retained NBA Heavyweight title.
Win	68–5	Pat Valentino	KO	8 (12)	1949-10-14	San Francisco, California, United States	Retained NBA Heavyweight title.
Win	67–5	Gus Lesnevich	TKO	7 (10)	1949-08-10	New York, New York, United States	Retained NBA Heavyweight title.
Win	66–5	Jersey Joe Walcott	UD	15 (10)	1949-06-22	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Won NBA Heavyweight title.
Win	65–5	Joey Maxim	UD	15 (15)	1949-02-28	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	64–5	Johnny Haynes	KO	8 (15)	1949-02-07	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	63–5	Joe Baksi	KO	11 (15)	1948-12-10	New York, New York, United States
Win	62–5	Walter Hafer	KO	7 (15)	1948-11-14	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	61–5	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	1948-10-13	Washington, D.C., United States
Win	60–5	Erv Sarvin	UD	10	1948-05-20	Buffalo, New York, United States
Win	59–5	Elmer Ray	KO	9 (10)	1948-05-07	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	58–5	Sam Baroudi	KO	10	1948-02-20	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Baroudi knocked out in the tenth round. Baroudi died from injuries sustained in the bout.
Win	57–5	Archie Moore	KO	8 (10)	1948-01-13	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	56–5	Hilton "Fitzie" Fitzpatrick	KO	4 (10)	1947-12-02	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	55-5	Teddy Randolph	UD	10 (?)	1947-11-03	Buffalo, New York, United States
Win	54–5	Clarence Jones	KO	1 (10)	1947-10-27	Huntington, West Virginia, United States
Win	53–5	Al Smith	KO	4 (10)	1947-10-16	Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	52–5	Lloyd Marshall	KO	2 (10)	1947-09-29	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	51–5	Joe Matisi	UD	10	1947-09-16	Buffalo, New York, United States
Loss	50–5	Elmer Ray	PTS	10	1947-07-25	New York, New York, United States
Win	50–4	Hilton "Fitzie" Fitzpatrick	KO	5 (10)	1947-07-14	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	49-4	Archie Moore	UD	10	1947-07-14	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	48–4	Erv Sarlin	UD	10	1947-05-05	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	47-4	Jimmy Bivins	KO	4 (10)	1947-03-10	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	46–4	"Oakland" Billy Smith	KO	5 (10)	1947-02-17	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	45–4	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	1946-11-12	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	44–4	"Oakland" Billy Smith	UD	10	1946-09-23	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	43–4	Lloyd Marshall	KO	6 (10)	1946-07-29	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	42–4	Shelton Bell	KO	5 (10)	1946-06-13	Youngstown, Ohio, United States
Win	41–4	Archie Moore	UD	10	1946-05-20	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	40–4	Tommy "Lee" Hubert	KO	4 (10)	1946-05-13	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	39–4	George Parks	KO	6 (10)	1946-04-15	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	38–4	Billy Duncan	KO	4 (10)	1946-04-01	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	37–4	Tommy "Lee" Hubert	UD	10	1946-03-25	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	36–4	Al Sheridan	KO	2 (10)	1946-02-18	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss	35–4	Lloyd Marshall	TKO	8 (10)	1943-03-31	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
loss	35–3	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	1943-01-07	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	35–2	Joey Maxim	UD	10	1942-12-01	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	34–2	Joey Maxim	UD	10	1942-10-27	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	33–2	Mose Brown	KO	6 (10)	1942-09-15	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	32–2	Jose Basora	KO	5 (10)	1942-08-17	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	31–2	Booker Beckwith	KO	9 (10)	1942-06-27	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	30–2	Steve Mamakos	KO	1 (10)	1942-06-14	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	29–2	Charley Burley	UD	10	1942-06-29	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	28–2	Charley Burley	UD	10	1942-05-25	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss	27–2	Evelio "Kid" Tunero	UD	10	1942-05-13	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	27–1	Billy Pryor	UD	10	1942-04-08	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	26–1	Ken Overlin	PTS	10 (?)	1942-03-02	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	25–1	Anton Christoforidis	KO	3 (10)	1942-01-13	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	24–1	Teddy Yarosz	UD	10	1941-11-07	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	23–1	Pat Mangini	KO	1 (?)	1941-09-13	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	22–1	Al Gilbert	KO	6 (10)	1941-07-21	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Loss	21–1	Ken Overlin	UD	10	1941-06-09	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	21–0	Rudy Kazole	UD	10	1941-05-12	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	20–0	Joe Sutka	UD	10	1941-03-31	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	19–0	Floyd Howard	KO	7 (10)	1941-03-10	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	18–0	Slaka Cavrich	KO	2 (10)	1941-02-22	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	17–0	Billy Bengal	UD	10	1941-02-10	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	16–0	Charlie Jerome	KO	2 (10)	1940-12-02	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	15–0	Fidel Navarro	KO	1 (10)	1940-11-31	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win	14–0	Bill Hood	KO	2 (?)	1940-10-03	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	13–0	Martin Simmons	UD	10	1940-09-23	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	12–0	Bradley Lewis	KO	3 (10)	1940-06-24	San Francisco, California, United States
Win	11–0	John Reeves	KO	4 (10)	1940-06-12	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win	10–0	Frankie Williams	KO	7 (10)	1940-06-05	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	9–0	Pat Wright	KO	4 (?)	1940-05-17	Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	8–0	Eddie Fowler	KO	3 (10)	1940-05-10	Portsmouth, Ohio, United States
Win	7–0	Remo Fernandez	KO	6	1940-04-24	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	6–0	Charley Banks	KO	2	1940-04-16	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	5–0	Kid Ash	KO	3 (10)	1940-04-10	Portsmouth, Ohio, United States
Win	4–0	Charley Banks	UD	6	1940-04-02	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	3–0	John Reeves	UD	6	1940-03-27	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	2–0	Jimmy Brown	PTS	2	1940-03-20	Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	1–0	Medley Johnson	KO	3 (6)	1940-03-15	Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States	Ezzard's Professional debut.

References

↑ "Ezzard Charles". Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
↑ Newsmakers Interview with Ezzard Charles Jr., WKRC Channel 12, Cincinnati, August 17, 2008
↑ Detloff, William (September 2002). "The 20 Greatest Light Heavyweights of All-Time". The Ring. 81 (10): 50
↑ Will Hammock. "The Champ: County to honor legendary boxer Charles today." Gwinnett Daily Post. June 5, 2010
↑ Newsmakers interview with Ezzard Charles Jr., WKRC Channel 12 Cincinnati, August 17, 2008
↑ Guide to 20th Century African American Resources, Cincinnati Historical Society
↑ "IBRO'S 25 Greatest Fighters of All Time". Eastsideboxing.com. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
↑ "Espn.Com: All-Time Greatest Boxers". Sports.espn.go.com. 1971-03-08. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
↑ The Greatest Light Heavyweights of All Time Archived September 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Ezzard Charles's Professional Boxing Record – BoxRec.com

External links

Professional boxing record for Ezzard Charles from BoxRec

Achievements
Vacant Title last held by Joe Louis	NBA Heavyweight Champion June 22, 1949 – July 18, 1951	Succeeded by Jersey Joe Walcott
	NYSAC Heavyweight Champion September 27, 1950 – July 18, 1951
	The Ring Heavyweight Champion September 27, 1950 – July 18, 1951
	World Heavyweight Champion June 16, 1951 – July 18, 1951

The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year

1928: Tunney
1929: Loughran
1930: Schmeling
1931: Loughran
1932: Sharkey
1933: No award
1934: Canzoneri & Ross
1935: Ross
1936: Louis
1937: Armstrong
1938: Louis
1939: Louis
1940: Conn
1941: Louis
1942: Robinson
1943: Apostoli
1944: Jack
1945: Pep
1946: Zale
1947: Lesnevich
1948: Williams
1949: Charles
1950: Charles
1951: Robinson
1952: Marciano
1953: Olson
1954: Marciano
1955: Marciano
1956: Patterson
1957: Basilio
1958: Johansson
1959: Johansson
1960: Patterson
1961: Brown
1962: Tiger
1963: Clay
1964: Griffith
1965: Tiger
1966: Ali
1967: Frazier
1968: Benvenuti
1969: Nápoles
1970: Frazier
1971: Frazier
1972: Ali & Monzón
1973: Foreman
1974: Ali
1975: Ali
1976: Foreman
1977: Zárate
1978: Ali
1979: Leonard
1980: Hearns
1981: Leonard & Sánchez
1982: Holmes
1983: Hagler
1984: Hearns
1985: Hagler & Curry
1986: Tyson
1987: Holyfield
1988: Tyson
1989: Whitaker
1990: Chávez
1991: Toney
1992: Bowe
1993: Carbajal
1994: Jones, Jr.
1995: De La Hoya
1996: Holyfield
1997: Holyfield
1998: Mayweather, Jr.
1999: Ayala
2000: Trinidad
2001: Hopkins
2002: Forrest
2003: Toney
2004: Johnson
2005: Hatton
2006: Pacquiao
2007: Mayweather, Jr.
2008: Pacquiao
2009: Pacquiao
2010: Martínez
2011: Ward
2012: Márquez
2013: Stevenson
2014: Kovalev
2015: Fury

Sugar Ray Robinson Award

1938: Dempsey
1939: Conn
1940: Armstrong
1941: Louis
1942: Ross
1943: Boxers of the Armed Forces
1944: B. Leonard
1945: Walker
1946: Zale
1947: Lesnevich
1948: Williams
1949: Charles
1950: Robinson
1951: Walcott
1952: Marciano
1953: Gavilán
1954: Olson
1955: Basilio
1956: Patterson
1957: Basilio
1958: Moore
1959: Johansson
1960: Patterson
1961: Fullmer
1962: Tiger
1963: Griffith
1964: Pastrano
1965: Ali
1966: Tiger
1967: Ortíz
1968: Foster
1969: Frazier
1970: Buchanan
1971: Frazier
1972: Monzón
1973: Foreman
1974: Ali
1975: Ali & Frazier
1976: Davis, Jr., S. R. Leonard, Randolph, L. Spinks & M. Spinks
1977: Norton
1978: Holmes
1979: S. R. Leonard
1980: Hearns
1981: S. R. Leonard
1982: Pryor
1983: Hagler
1984: Hearns
1985: Hagler
1986: Tyson
1987: Chávez
1988: Tyson
1989: Whitaker
1990: Holyfield
1991: Toney
1992: Bowe
1993: Whitaker
1994: Foreman
1995: De La Hoya
1996: Holyfield
1997: Holyfield
1998: Mosley
1999: Lewis
2000: Trinidad
2001: Hopkins
2002: Forrest
2003: Toney
2004: Johnson
2005: Hatton
2006: Pacquiao
2007: Mayweather, Jr.
2008: Pacquiao
2009: Pacquiao
2010: Martínez
2011: Ward
2012: Donaire
2013: Mayweather, Jr.
2014: Crawford
2015: Mayweather, Jr.

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