I don’t really have that much knowledge on these older fighters so I’m wondering why ezard Charles is held to such a high regardand I’m wondering if there are any specific fights that I should give a watch.
Ezzard... simple and short,beat a ton of variety fighters. He executed Archie Moore thrice and dealt with some members of the dangerous black murderers row,despite having a rough start at ATG level vs Bivins and Marshall,he avenged both losses in spectacular fashion,plus he was mostly outweighed as he moved up in weight. Overall I think he deserves p4p #1 than SRR,but it's close,I know there will be many disagreeing with me but this is my opinion.
You can learn a lot about boxing watching Charles but I’ll pass on some things where I can… Lou Gehrig's Disease (Was that his affliction?) begun effecting EC I’ve learned from someone I trust very much as early as 1948… in the beginning it attacks the legs first, look at boxers such as Manuel Marquez when his legs went… against Juan Diaz… he could no longer push off his jab, he was relying on Diaz to come to him the signs of a shot fighter begin below the waist - he was reduced by a number of factors in the film we have, age, wear, affliction and Baroudi's unfortunate demise - Ezz Charles at HW (the best footage we have) is a handicapped, worn out fighter who didn’t like boxing anymore who was getting by and probably would just prefer to retire and listen to jazz or play his cello but he had to bring home the bacon… he was the “poorest HW champ” and he retired that way. I believe Charles might be the greatest boxer of all time tho and Bill Miller admired the hell out of him… against the HW’s he’ll show you a lot about boxing, physicality wasn’t his thing, think first… he ain’t vicious or the guy who beat Moore 3x but he will show you where to put your head inside, how to bank feints, build a fight, combat age and stay in a low gear while winning - watch all his bouts, enjoy the flashes of the real Cobra and a good education from someone who is inarguably one of the P4P GREATEST.
in his own period there was a time where he was out of favour or harshly criticised, same as JJW, I seem to remember British boxing writers commenting as much, though that might have been Lloyd Marshall, now that I think about it. But certainly in the U.S. Boxing is always Partisan, Nationalistically supported and of course power driven by Top Promoters & Managers. but as Charles' career and Boxing prowess is clearly visible, we can see he is great fighter, likewise Marshall and Walcott too for that matter. and of course countless others as well.
