Did Ezzard Charles fight Rocky Marciano with symptoms of ALS?

It's certainly possible that he was in the early stages of the disease. After fighting Rocky he was a sub .500 fighter to finish his career. Now that could have been because he was an old fighter with a lot of wear and tear but it is certainly probable that he was already sick.

I think most would agree that Charles was the superior fighter to both Walcott and Marciano. He simply was past his best, possibly sick and fighting above his natural weight against those men.

 

If that's the case then my respect for Charles has shot up tenfold..

 

@George Crowcroft

 

I don't know what the book's source is, but in this interview from 1968 he says that he first noticed it in 1955. Mind you, Charles wasn't always consistent in his recollection of dates, as anyone who's tried to pin down his sparring session with Sonny Liston will be aware.

https://ibb.co/bKmDnVB

 

It's a possibility, although I would doubt it personally. I think it may have been before the Louis fight (memory is really hazy here) but Charles had a medical check due to concern about a heart problem (I think, may have been something else) and they found nothing adverse whatsoever. I don't think in the few short years between that and Marciano anything substantial would have developed.

I believe the accumulation of fights prior to Rocky, combined with the brutality of their fights culminated in his condition. I'd hazard a guess and say that Charles didn't have it before Marciano but definitely did after.

As for symptoms, if he had any, they weren't notable to be written in his autobiography.

 

Ezzard Charles was diagnosed with ALS in 1968...and died in 1975 just before his 54th birthday!