Ezzard Charles

CTL-E-7083 · Person · other · 1921–1975

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07955 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7083.

Ezzard Charles, born July 7, 1921, won the 1939 AAU national middleweight title before turning professional in 1940, the International Boxing Hall of Fame records. Fighting the era's top middleweights and light heavyweights, he defeated Teddy Yarosz, Charley Burley and Joey Maxim, and after wartime military service he beat Archie Moore three times and avenged losses to Lloyd Marshall and Jimmy Bivins. In February 1948 in Chicago, EBSCO's Research Starters record, Charles knocked out Sam Baroudi, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage; distraught and nearly quitting, Charles continued at the urging of Baroudi's family and donated the purses from that fight and his next to them. Charles won the vacant NBA heavyweight title by defeating Jersey Joe Walcott in 1949 and earned worldwide recognition by decisioning Joe Louis in 1950, the Hall records; he lost the title to Walcott in their third meeting in 1951 and later twice challenged Rocky Marciano. The Hall gives his totals as 89 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw with 51 knockouts in 115 bouts. Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis years after retiring, Charles died of the disease in 1975 and was inducted into the Hall in 1990.

The record

• Also known as: Ezzard Mack Charles

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0456. Baroudi disposition: the February 1948 Chicago fight and its aftermath are carried exactly as EBSCO and BoxRec state them — Baroudi died of injuries from the bout (EBSCO specifies cerebral hemorrhage), Charles nearly retired, Baroudi's family urged him to continue, and he donated the purses from that fight and his next to the family; no claim beyond those sources is made. Death-date variance: the Hall lists May 27, 1975; BoxRec gives May 28, 1975 — the description carries only the year and the variance is flagged here rather than blended. Identity: this record is Ezzard Mack Charles, heavyweight champion 1949–1951; his three wins over Archie Moore (S8-03) are bout results carried in the description, not a relationship edge. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Charles's record is a two-division greatness record shadowed by 1948 — the Baroudi fight and the family's response to it are part of the sourced record and are carried plainly. Photo: CLEARED, Public domain, 1950 photograph whose Commons file description names Ezzard Charles (left) against Joe Louis on September 27, 1950.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Ezzard Charles." IBHOF.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• EBSCO. "Ezzard Charles." Research Starters: History. EBSCOhost. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• BoxRec. "Ezzard Charles." BoxRec Wiki. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

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Record CTL-E-7083 · Combined Graph record U-07955 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources.
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