Ezzard Charles Record
| Total Fights | 121 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 95 |
| Losses | 25 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| Title Wins | 3 |
|---|---|
| Title Defenses | 8 |
| Title-Fight KOs | 5 |
| KO Wins | 52 |
| KO Losses | 7 |
Featured Opponents
What is Ezzard Charles' boxing record?
In a professional boxing career spanning 19 years and five months, Ezzard Charles fought 121 times with 95 wins, 25 losses, and 1 draw.
Charles retired from professional boxing with a record of 95-25-1, which included three heavyweight world-title wins and eight successful title defense fights. He had a 43% knockouts-to-fights ratio with 52 of his total 121 fights being knockout wins, five of which were in title fights. Charles suffered seven knockout losses in his career, two of which were in title fights.
His last fight was a 10-round unanimous decision defeat to Alvin Green on September 1, 1959.
Some of Charles' best fights and notable victories include wins over eight Hall-of-Famers (Jimmy Bivins, Joey Maxim, Jersey Joe Walcott, Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Lloyd Marshall, Charley Burley, and Teddy Yarosz), .
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121 | Sep 1, 1959 | 38 | Alvin Green | Loss | UD |
| 120 | Jul 30, 1959 | 38 | George Logan | Loss | KO8 |
| 119 | Jul 3, 1959 | 37 | Dave Ashley | Win | TKO9 |
| 118 | Oct 27, 1958 | 37 | Donnie Fleeman | Loss | KO6 |
| 117 | Aug 28, 1958 | 37 | Alfredo Zuany | Loss | UD |
| 116 | Aug 28, 1958 | 37 | Johnny Harper | Win | UD |
| 115 | Oct 2, 1956 | 35 | Dick Richardson | Loss | DQ |
| 114 | Aug 31, 1956 | 35 | Harry Matthews | Loss | UD |
| 113 | Jul 13, 1956 | 35 | Pat McMurtry | Loss | UD |
| 112 | Jun 19, 1956 | 34 | Bob Albright | Win | RTD6 |
| 111 | May 21, 1956 | 34 | Wayne Bethea | Loss | UD |
| 110 | Apr 21, 1956 | 34 | Don Jasper | Win | TKO9 |
| 109 | Dec 29, 1955 | 34 | Young Jack Johnson | Loss | TKO6 |
| 108 | Dec 22, 1955 | 34 | Bob Albright | Win | SD |
| 107 | Dec 6, 1955 | 34 | Toxie Hall | Win | UD |
| 106 | Nov 14, 1955 | 34 | Toxie Hall | Loss | SD |
| 105 | Aug 31, 1955 | 34 | Tommy Jackson | Loss | UD |
| 104 | Aug 3, 1955 | 34 | Tommy Jackson | Loss | UD |
| 103 | Jul 13, 1955 | 34 | Paul Andrews | Win | SD |
| 102 | Jun 8, 1955 | 33 | John Holman | Win | UD |
| 101 | Apr 27, 1955 | 33 | John Holman | Loss | TKO9 |
| 100 | Apr 11, 1955 | 33 | Vern Escoe | Win | KO3 |
| 99 | Feb 18, 1955 | 33 | Charley Norkus | Win | UD |
| 98 | Sep 17, 1954 | 33 | Rocky Marciano | Loss * | KO8 |
| 97 | Jun 17, 1954 | 32 | Rocky Marciano | Loss * | UD |
| 96 | Jan 13, 1954 | 32 | Bob Satterfield | Win | KO2 |
| 95 | Dec 16, 1953 | 32 | Coley Wallace | Win | KO10 |
| 94 | Sep 8, 1953 | 32 | Harold Johnson | Loss | SD |
| 93 | Aug 11, 1953 | 32 | Niño Valdés | Loss | UD |
| 92 | May 26, 1953 | 31 | Larry Watson | Win | KO5 |
| 91 | May 12, 1953 | 31 | Billy Gilliam | Win | UD |
| 90 | Apr 1, 1953 | 31 | Rex Layne | Win | UD |
| 89 | Feb 4, 1953 | 31 | Tommy Harrison | Win | TKO9 |
| 88 | Jan 14, 1953 | 31 | Wes Bascom | Win | TKO9 |
| 87 | Dec 15, 1952 | 31 | Frank Buford | Win | TKO7 |
| 86 | Nov 26, 1952 | 31 | Jimmy Bivins | Win | UD |
| 85 | Oct 24, 1952 | 31 | Cesar Brion | Win | UD |
| 84 | Oct 8, 1952 | 31 | Bernie Reynolds | Win | KO2 |
| 83 | Aug 8, 1952 | 31 | Rex Layne | Loss | PTS |
| 82 | Jun 5, 1952 | 30 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Loss * | UD |
| 81 | Dec 12, 1951 | 30 | Joe Kahut | Win | KO8 |
| 80 | Dec 12, 1951 | 30 | Joey Maxim | Win | UD |
| 79 | Oct 10, 1951 | 30 | Rex Layne | Win | TKO11 |
| 78 | Jul 18, 1951 | 30 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Loss * | KO7 |
| 77 | May 30, 1951 | 29 | Joey Maxim | Win * | UD |
| 76 | Mar 7, 1951 | 29 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Win * | UD |
| 75 | Jan 12, 1951 | 29 | Lee Oma | Win * | TKO10 |
| 74 | Dec 5, 1950 | 29 | Nick Barone | Win * | KO11 |
| 73 | Sep 27, 1950 | 29 | Joe Louis | Win * | UD |
| 72 | Aug 15, 1950 | 29 | Freddie Beshore | Win * | TKO14 |
| 71 | Oct 14, 1949 | 28 | Pat Valentino | Win * | KO8 |
| 70 | Aug 10, 1949 | 28 | Gus Lesnevich | Win * | RTD7 |
| 69 | Jun 22, 1949 | 27 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Win * | UD |
| 68 | Feb 28, 1949 | 27 | Joey Maxim | Win | MD |
| 67 | Feb 7, 1949 | 27 | Johnny Haynes | Win | KO8 |
| 66 | Dec 10, 1948 | 27 | Joe Baksi | Win | TKO11 |
| 65 | Nov 15, 1948 | 27 | Walter Hafer | Win | KO7 |
| 64 | Sep 13, 1948 | 27 | Jimmy Bivins | Win | UD |
| 63 | May 20, 1948 | 26 | Erv Sarlin | Win | UD |
| 62 | May 7, 1948 | 26 | Elmer Ray | Win | KO9 |
| 61 | Feb 20, 1948 | 26 | Sam Baroudi | Win | KO10 |
| 60 | Jan 13, 1948 | 26 | Archie Moore | Win | KO8 |
| 59 | Dec 2, 1947 | 26 | Fitzie Fitzpatrick | Win | KO4 |
| 58 | Nov 3, 1947 | 26 | Teddy Randolph | Win | UD |
| 57 | Oct 27, 1947 | 26 | Clarence Jones | Win | KO1 |
| 56 | Oct 16, 1947 | 26 | Al Smith | Win | TKO4 |
| 55 | Sep 29, 1947 | 26 | Lloyd Marshall | Win | KO2 |
| 54 | Sep 16, 1947 | 26 | Joe Matisi | Win | UD |
| 53 | Jul 25, 1947 | 26 | Elmer Ray | Loss | SD |
| 52 | Jul 14, 1947 | 26 | Fitzie Fitzpatrick | Win | KO5 |
| 51 | May 5, 1947 | 25 | Archie Moore | Win | MD |
| 50 | Apr 14, 1947 | 25 | Erv Sarlin | Win | UD |
| 49 | Mar 10, 1947 | 25 | Jimmy Bivins | Win | KO4 |
| 48 | Feb 17, 1947 | 25 | Oakland Billy Smith | Win | KO5 |
| 47 | Nov 12, 1946 | 25 | Jimmy Bivins | Win | UD |
| 46 | Sep 23, 1946 | 25 | Oakland Billy Smith | Win | UD |
| 45 | Jul 29, 1946 | 25 | Lloyd Marshall | Win | KO6 |
| 44 | Jun 13, 1946 | 24 | Shelton Bell | Win | KO5 |
| 43 | May 20, 1946 | 24 | Archie Moore | Win | UD |
| 42 | May 13, 1946 | 24 | Tommy Hubert | Win | KO4 |
| 41 | Apr 15, 1946 | 24 | George Parks | Win | TKO6 |
| 40 | Apr 1, 1946 | 24 | Billy Duncan | Win | KO4 |
| 39 | Mar 25, 1946 | 24 | Tommy Hubert | Win | UD |
| 38 | Feb 18, 1946 | 24 | Al Sheridan | Win | KO2 |
| 37 | Dec 16, 1944 | 23 | Al Barlow | Win | PTS |
| 36 | Dec 13, 1944 | 23 | Stanley Goicz | Win | PTS |
| 35 | Mar 31, 1943 | 21 | Lloyd Marshall | Loss | TKO8 |
| 34 | Jan 7, 1943 | 21 | Jimmy Bivins | Loss | UD |
| 33 | Dec 1, 1942 | 21 | Joey Maxim | Win | UD |
| 32 | Oct 27, 1942 | 21 | Joey Maxim | Win | UD |
| 31 | Sep 15, 1942 | 21 | Mose Brown | Win | KO6 |
| 30 | Aug 17, 1942 | 21 | Jose Basora | Win | KO5 |
| 29 | Jul 27, 1942 | 21 | Booker Beckwith | Win | KO9 |
| 28 | Jul 14, 1942 | 21 | Steve Mamakos | Win | KO1 |
| 27 | Jun 29, 1942 | 20 | Charley Burley | Win | PTS |
| 26 | May 25, 1942 | 20 | Charley Burley | Win | UD |
| 25 | May 13, 1942 | 20 | Kid Tunero | Loss | UD |
| 24 | Apr 8, 1942 | 20 | Billy Pryor | Win | PTS |
| 23 | Mar 2, 1942 | 20 | Ken Overlin | Draw | MD |
| 22 | Jan 12, 1942 | 20 | Anton Christoforidis | Win | TKO3 |
| 21 | Nov 17, 1941 | 20 | Teddy Yarosz | Win | UD |
| 20 | Oct 13, 1941 | 20 | Pat Mangini | Win | KO1 |
| 19 | Jul 21, 1941 | 20 | Al Gilbert | Win | TKO5 |
| 18 | Jun 9, 1941 | 19 | Ken Overlin | Loss | UD |
| 17 | May 12, 1941 | 19 | Rudy Kozole | Win | PTS |
| 16 | Mar 31, 1941 | 19 | Joe Sutka | Win | PTS |
| 15 | Mar 10, 1941 | 19 | Floyd Howard | Win | KO7 |
| 14 | Feb 24, 1941 | 19 | Slaka Cavrich | Win | KO2 |
| 13 | Feb 10, 1941 | 19 | Billy Bengal | Win | UD |
| 12 | Dec 2, 1940 | 19 | Charley Jerome | Win | KO3 |
| 11 | Oct 1, 1940 | 19 | Marty Simmons | Win | PTS |
| 10 | Sep 23, 1940 | 19 | Billy Hood | Win | KO2 |
| 9 | Aug 5, 1940 | 19 | John Reeves | Win | PTS |
| 8 | Jun 29, 1940 | 18 | Carl Turner | Win | PTS |
| 7 | Jun 17, 1940 | 18 | Young Kid Ash | Win | KO3 |
| 6 | Jun 13, 1940 | 18 | Frankie Williams | Win | TKO5 |
| 5 | Jun 3, 1940 | 18 | Charley Banks | Win | KO1 |
| 4 | May 20, 1940 | 18 | Charley Banks | Win | PTS |
| 3 | Apr 3, 1940 | 18 | Remo Fernandez | Win | PTS |
| 2 | Mar 27, 1940 | 18 | John Reeves | Win | PTS |
| 1 | Mar 12, 1940 | 18 | Melody Johnson | Win | KO4 |
* World-title fight
Boxing career
Ezzard Charles (Cincinnati Cobra) was an American professional boxer. He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S. on July 7, 1921. He was a heavyweight world champion. He died on May 28, 1975 at the age of 53 years. Charles was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1990. His professional boxing career spanned more than 19 years — from 1940 to 1959.
Charles made his professional boxing debut against Melody Johnson at the age of 18 on March 12, 1940, defeating Johnson via 4th round KO. He went on to win 16 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 7 wins via stoppage.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 27 on June 22, 1949 after 68 professional fights, against Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight NBA (vacant) title. He defeated Walcott via 15 round unanimous decision to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Ezzard Charles was a one-time unified heavyweight world champion, and won one world title at heavyweight. For all the details about Charles' world title wins and defenses refer to the "Championships" section below.
Charles had a total of 25 losses in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against Alvin Green at 38 years of age, on September 1, 1959. Charles lost the fight via 10 round unanimous decision.
Championships
Charles had a total of 13 world-title fights, which includes winning three world titles and eight successful title defenses. He won nine of these fights and lost four.
Title Wins
Ezzard Charles fought for a heavyweight world title in five fights and won two of these fights. He won one heavyweight belt.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Won | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 27, 1950^ | Joe Louis | Heavyweight | NYSAC*, The Ring | UD |
| Jun 22, 1949 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Heavyweight | NBA* | UD |
Title Defenses
Ezzard Charles had nine heavyweight world-title defense fights. He won eight of them and lost only once.
Following is the table of his successful title defense fights, the next section has the fights where he lost his titles.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Defended | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 1951 | Joey Maxim | Heavyweight | NBA, NYSAC, The Ring | UD |
| Mar 7, 1951 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Heavyweight | NBA, NYSAC, The Ring | UD |
| Jan 12, 1951 | Lee Oma | Heavyweight | NBA, NYSAC, The Ring | TKO |
| Dec 5, 1950 | Nick Barone | Heavyweight | NBA, NYSAC, The Ring | KO |
| Sep 27, 1950^ | Joe Louis | Heavyweight | NBA | UD |
| Aug 15, 1950 | Freddie Beshore | Heavyweight | NBA | TKO |
| Oct 14, 1949 | Pat Valentino | Heavyweight | NBA | KO |
| Aug 10, 1949 | Gus Lesnevich | Heavyweight | NBA | RTD |
Title Losses
Ezzard Charles lost one world-title defense fight, and lost three titles in the fight.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Lost | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1951 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Heavyweight | NBA, NYSAC, The Ring | KO |
Highlights
Charles fought a total of 121 times during his professional career, which includes 13 world-title fights at the heavyweight division. He was among the very best of his generation and was known for his great performances in his fights. These seven fights are the highlight of his career.
May 25, 1942: Ezzard Charles puts on the first remarkable performance of his career, defeating Charley Burley via 10th round unanimous decision.
January 13, 1948: Ezzard Charles beats Archie Moore via 8th round KO.
June 22, 1949: Charles wins his first world title by defeating Jersey Joe Walcott via 15 round unanimous decision. He is now the NBA heavyweight world champion.
September 27, 1950: Charles becomes a unified heavyweight world champion by beating Joe Louis via 15 round unanimous decision. He now holds the NBA, NYSAC , and The Ring heavyweight world-champion belts.
March 7, 1951: Charles successfully defends the NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight titles against Jersey Joe Walcott, winning the fight via 15 round unanimous decision.
May 30, 1951: Charles successfully defends the NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight titles against Joey Maxim, winning the fight via 15 round unanimous decision.
December 12, 1951: Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim via 12th round unanimous decision.
FAQs
How many KOs does Ezzard Charles have on his record?
Charles knocked out 52 of his 121 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 43%. Of his total 95 wins, 52 of them were via KO (54.7%).
What was Ezzard Charles' first world title win?
Charles' first world-title win was the NBA (vacant) belt at heavyweight. He defeated Jersey Joe Walcott via 15 round unanimous decision to win the title.
How many world titles did Ezzard Charles win?
Charles won one world title at heavyweight.
How many title defenses did Ezzard Charles make?
Charles had a total of nine title defense fights. He was successful eight times and lost one time.