Ezzard Charles

Greatness is often overlooked in its own time. For Ezzard Charles—one of boxing’s most skilled practitioners, with a record of 93–25–1 (52 KO)—recognition took decades. Named by The Ring magazine as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, Charles was frustrated in his attempts to get a shot at the 175–pound title, and as World Heavyweight Champion (1949–1951) struggled to win the respect of boxing fans captivated by Joe Louis’ power and charisma. This first-ever biography of “The Cincinnati Cobra” covers his early life in a small country town and his career in the glamorously dirty business of prizefighting in the 1950s, one of the sport’s Golden Ages. Charles’ fights with Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano and his three wins over the legendary Archie Moore are detailed.

William Dettloff was the senior writer at The Ring magazine for 15 years and has been the editor-in-chief at Ringside Seat magazine since 2017. He has written extensively for HBO, ESPN and other outlets. He lives in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

William Dettloff
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 232
Bibliographic Info: 14 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9743-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1947-7
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments ix

Preface 1

Introduction 3

1. Snooks 5

2. No Cheap Ambition 16

3. Jake 26

4. The Garden 34

5. Baroudi 48

6. The Price 57

7. Going Heavy 64

8. Hey, Aren’t You Ezzard Charles? 77

9. Joe 91

10. Unforgivable 108

11. What They Came For 126

12. A Good Race Horse 144

13. Rocky 166

14. How Much Is Enough? 185

15. The Flood 195

Chapter Notes 205

Bibliography 214

Index 217

“excellent biography…Dettloff has done exhaustive research on the life and fighting career of Ezzard Charles…a fine biography of a great champion, and one that Ezzard Charles deserves. Boxing fans should take the time to read this very interesting book and learn about this man who deserves to be remembered. It has often been said that Charles is the most underrated of all heavyweight champions. Mr. Dettloff has down a terrific job in changing that history”—Boxing Over Broadway; “one of the best prizefighters who ever lived, but has received little credit or attention”—ProtoView; “thoroughly researched…makes a compelling case…Charles was unquestionably one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time”—The Ring;