How good was Ezzard Charles resume?

Can't think of a better resume in history, honestly, which others have articulated already. It's literally beyond reproach.

 

Not in his top 5 imo. Joe was still good, and still likely a top 3 heavyweight, but he was kinda like Pac in the Mayweather fight, just too far over the hill for it to be a great win imo.

 

People today don't want to hear it, but Charles was one of the top P4P fighters ever, if not the best

 

It should be borne in mind he had 5 1/2lbs on Burley in 1 fight and 9 pounds in the other.

 

In the Dettlof book, he says that he came in higher than he would've liked for the first fight. Iirc, he was a late replacement for Overlin, and had just lost to Turnero like 2 weeks prior.

 

I frickin' love this thread

 

Hi Buddy.
Slightly intrigued by your " people today " comment, in what context do you mean, are you referring to the younger generation of boxing followers, or older fans such as myself, who might think the fighters of the 60s and 70s were better than Charles in particular, and his contemporaries, or do mean something completely different ? no side or slant to my interest honestly.
stay safe Skins, chat soon buddy.

 

In terms of LHW hes comically overrated with many considering him the GOAT despite never winning a belt and the 11 knockdowns in his 2 losses to Bivins and Marshall.

In terms of HW hes closer to the bottom of the lineal champ pecking order if only because of the small era he fought in. I'd say prime Charles was better than Marciano and would have won their fights a few years earlier. There is no question in my mind that prime Louis would have beaten both him and Marciano. Charles SOS was very high but Clarence Henrys absence on his HW resume is a little glaring and he did rematches too much for my taste. Those rematches are a double edged sword for Charles in a lot of ways.

 

So in short, this has nothing to do with his resume

 

His tenth best win is better than Floyd's best. Cincinnati Cobra was a truly great fighter.

 

@NoNeck

 

Agreed but it is an incredibly educational fight!

 

The Moore wins were great, but the context matters, they were when he still had his chronic illness, after which he then became world class.
Charles’ Walcott wins were class.
Elmer Ray was a decent win, especially considering Charles was 175lbs in that fight.
His Satterfield win was good.
Layne wins were also good.
The Charley Burley wins were class considering Burley was prime and Charles was green.
The Bivins wins were class.
The Maxim wins when he weighed at or below 175lbs were good wins.
Overall he has an ATG resume.

 

He did never held a title but arguably did more than the LHW champ at the time.

 

Are you talking about his stomach ulcers?