FORGOTTEN WARRIORS #5 Ezzard Charles

I do not own the right to this footage, and I don't own the rights to the soundtrack. This is the 5th highlight in the FW series. Hope you all enjoy. I'm sorry for the bad quality at times, it's really hard to find good footage of him.

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 is best remembered for his wins as a heavyweight, but most experts feel[weasel words] he was in his prime as a light heavyweight. Although he never won the championship at that weight, Ring magazine has rated him as the greatest light heavyweight of all time.[3]

Ezzard 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 Champion. 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.

He returned to boxing after the war as a light heavyweight, picking up many notable wins over leading light heavyweight 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 world 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.

In 1951, Charles fought Walcott a third time and lost the title by knockout in the seventh round. Charles lost a controversial decision in the 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 Rocky 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.[4] In their September rematch, a severely cut Marciano rallied to KO Charles in the 8th round, in a bout that was named Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year." Financial problems forced Charles to continue fighting, losing 12 of his final 23 fights. He retired with a record of 96-25-1 (58 KOs).

Charles was also a respected double bass player who played with some of the jazz greats in the 40s and 50s at such notable places as Birdland. He was very close with Rocky Marciano and a neighbor and friend of Muhammed 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.

Category:

Sports

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• joe
• louis
• rocky
• marciano
• jersey
• walcott
• bob
• satterfield
• ezzard
• charles
• forgotten
• warriors

[chaseybears]

Ive been looking at your vids...great man, you have a bril mix of historic fights and fighters to some inspiring music, you know your stuff.

Thanks for the effort!

[uglybabashouse2]

@chaseybears Thank you very much. I really appreciate the support.

[iljn1988]

Lovely upload, and a fine tribute to a man who, for me, was the greatest Light-Heavyweight of them all. That's really going some when you consider that 175 lb, in terms of depth, history and classic fights, is arguably boxing's greatest division. In terms of who has the greatest resume, it's a tough one depending on your exact criteria. But I will say this - any all-time pound for pound top ten list without Charles is simply wrong. Great vid, cheers.

[uglybabashouse2]

@iljn1988 Thank you very much.

[EvanderHolyfield7]

great vid man he was great warrior

[uglybabashouse2]

@EvanderHolyfield7 Thank you very much

[TheMonkeyman725]

@iljn1988 Actually those KO's/KD's are spread all throughout his career pretty evenly. Besides, Tommy Gibbons, and Tommy Loughran are both as good as anyone Charles fought and he went 3-1-1 against Harry Greb who is usually regarded as one of the top 3 fighters ever. I would put Tunney over Charles by a shade because as fighters they're very similar men and boxers, but Tunney had a much better chin.

[stlucianrasta92]

Is this Metal Gear Solid music?

[42sundown]

@42sundown ...I had radio and newspaper accounts of Ezzard Charles and the others of that day. I am struck now by the cast iron physique on Ezzard Charles. He was hell on wheels without the wheels. I also was a fan of the old mongoose.

[42sundown]

@42sundown......great fights my dad had me believing Joe was invincible. I cried again when Ezzard Charles was beaten by Rocky, because by that time he was my favorite after learning how great he was. These guys, right up to now have meant so much to me. God I can't believe Smokin Joe is gone. He's 2 yrs younger than me. I canremember seeing Ezzard Charles in a wheel chair in a newspaper picture and thaat made me cry. In school fights or whippings, I didn't cry, emotions yes.

[42sundown]

Picture this...It's 1950 and threre is a skinny white 8 yr old dressed in brogans ( we got a new pair as school started) a pair of boxer shorts, with knitted wool gloves on beating the hell out of his pillow tied om the post of the wrout iron bed someone had just given us. I was listening to the radio (we had just recently acquired electricity in our area) as Ezzard Charles took the title from Joe Louis. I cried when Joe lost. With all the stuff about Hitler, the Schmelling fights, and other

[iljn1988]

@TheMonkeyman725, many of those KOs/KDs came when he was an aged shadow of his former self, years after his peak. I'm sorry, but if you compare who Charles fought with who Tunney fought at 175 lb, it's a no contest. Don't forget that Charles was a small Light-Heavyweight (only went up originally because the Middleweight champions wanted no part of him) and a positively dwarfed Heavyweight. 3-0 against Archie Moore, 4-1 against Bivins, 5-0 against Maxim, 2-1 against Marshall = top man at 175 lb.

[rbrtdornel]

Para mi el mejor semi-pesado de la historia, y uno de los mejores 10 campeones de los pesos máximos.

[TheMonkeyman725]

@iljn1988 He's my number two light heavy but top ten all time? I can't put him there, One thing a top ten fighter has to have is a great chin and Charles was knocked down almost thirty times in his career (seriously, I tried counting them all but I got bored and quit at 26,) and KO'd seven times. My best light-heavy is Gene Tunney, who has similar boxing skills but a much, much better chin.

[Iloveyoudonthateme]

And I meant Leonard not Robinson

[Iloveyoudonthateme]

Sugar ray was overrated in my book! Ezzard was a beast!