Question: Ezzard Charles was a world champion in which sport?
Answer: Boxing

Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975) was an American professional boxer and former World Heavyweight Champion.

Charles defeated numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. He retired with a record of 93 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw.

Career 

He was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, but is commonly thought of as a Cincinnatian.  Charles graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati where he was already becoming a well-known fighter.  Known as "The Cincinnati Cobra", Charles fought many notable opponents in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, eventually winning the World Championship in the latter. Although he never won the Light Heavyweight title, The Ring has rated him as the greatest light heavyweight of all time.

Career beginnings and military service 

Charles started his career as a featherweight in the amateurs, where he had a record of 42–0. In 1938, he won the Diamond Belt Middleweight Championship. He followed this up in 1939 by winning the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament of champions. He won the national AAU Middleweight Championship in 1939. He turned pro in 1940, knocking out Melody Johnson in the 4th round. Charles won all of his first 15 fights before being defeated by veteran Ken Overlin. Victories over future Hall of Famers Teddy Yarosz and the much avoided Charley Burley had started to solidify Charles as a top contender in the middleweight division. However, he served in the U.S. military during World War II and was unable to fight professionally in 1945.

World heavyweight champion 

He returned to boxing after the war as a light heavyweight, picking up many notable wins over leading light heavyweights, as well as heavyweight contenders Archie Moore, Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall and Elmer Ray. Shortly after his knock-out of Moore in their third and final meeting, tragedy struck. Charles fought a young contender named Sam Baroudi, knocking him out in Round 10. Baroudi died of the injuries he sustained in this bout. Charles was so devastated he almost gave up fighting. Charles was unable to secure a title shot at light heavyweight and moved up to heavyweight. After knocking out Joe Baksi and Johnny Haynes, Charles won the vacant National Boxing Association World Heavyweight title when he outpointed Jersey Joe Walcott over 15 rounds on June 22, 1949. The following year, he outpointed his idol and former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis to become the recognized Lineal Champion. Successful defenses against Walcott, Lee Oma and Joey Maxim would follow.

Charles vs. Marciano 

In 1951, Charles fought Walcott a third time and lost the title by knockout in the seventh round. Charles lost a controversial decision in their fourth and final bout. If Charles had won this fight, he would have become the first man in history to regain the heavyweight championship. Remaining a top contender with wins over Rex Layne, Tommy Harrison and Coley Wallace, Charles knocked out Bob Satterfield in an eliminator bout for the right to challenge Heavyweight Champion Rocky Marciano. His two stirring battles with Marciano are regarded as ring classics. In the first bout, held in June 1954, he valiantly took Rocky the distance, going down on points in a vintage heavyweight bout. Charles is the only man ever to last the full 15-round distance against Marciano. A number of fans and boxing writers felt that Charles deserved the decision.   In their September rematch, Charles landed a severe blow that literally split Marciano's nose in half. Marciano's cornermen were unable to stop the bleeding and the referee almost halted the contest until Marciano rallied with an 8th round knockout.

Later career 

Financial problems forced Charles to continue fighting, losing 13 of his final 23 fights (He held a record of 83 wins, 12 losses and 1 draws before financial problems became a factor in his career). He retired with a record of 93-25-1 (52 KOs).

Charles was also a respected double bass player who played with some of the jazz greats in the 1940s and 1950s at such notable places as Birdland (jazz composer George Russell wrote the famous tune "Ezz-Thetic" in his honor). He was very close with Rocky Marciano and a neighbor and friend of Muhammad Ali when they both lived on 85th Street in Chicago.  Charles also starred in one motion picture: Mau Mau Drums, an independent (and unreleased) jungle-adventure film shot in and around Cincinnati in 1960 by filmmaker Earl Schwieterman.

Death 

In 1968, Charles was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which was called "Lou Gehrig's disease". The disease affected Charles legs and eventually left him completely disabled. A fund raiser was held to assist Charles and many of his former opponents spoke on his behalf. Rocky Marciano in particular called Charles the bravest man he ever fought. The former boxer spent his last days in a nursing home. A chilling 1973 commercial showed Charles in his wheelchair horribly disabled by the disease. Charles died on May 28, 1975 in Chicago

Legacy 

In 1976, Cincinnati honored Charles by changing the name of Lincoln Park Drive to Ezzard Charles Drive. This was the street of his residence during the height of his career. 

He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2002, Charles was ranked #13 on The Ring magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.

In 2006, Ezzard Charles was named the 11th greatest fighter of all time by the IBRO (International Boxing Research Organisation). 

The "Cincinnati Cobra" was a master boxer of extraordinary skill and ability. He had speed, agility, fast hands and excellent footwork. Charles possessed a masterful jab and was a superb combination puncher. He was at his peak as a light-heavyweight. His record is quite impressive. Against top rate opposition like Archie Moore, Charley Burley, Lloyd Marshall, Jimmy Bivins, and Joey Maxim he was an impressive 16-2 combined. Despite being a natural light-heavy he won the heavyweight title and made 9 successful title defenses. Nearly 25% of voters had Charles in the top 10. Half of the voters had him in the top 15. Two thirds of voters had him inside the top 20.

In 2007, ESPN online ranks Ezzard Charles as the 27th greatest boxer of all time, ahead of such notable fighters as Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes and Jake LaMotta. 

In 2009, Boxing magazine listed Ezzard Charles as the greatest Light Heavyweight fighter ever, ahead of the likes of Archie Moore, Bob Foster, Michael Spinks and Gene Tunney. 

Prominent boxing historian Bert Sugar listed Charles as the 7th greatest Heavyweight of all time.

Professional boxing record 

|-
| style"text-align:center;" colspan
"8"|93 Wins (52 knockouts, 41 decisions), 25 Losses 
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Round
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
|  style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Win
|93–16
|align=left| Toxie Hall
|
|10
|1955-12-06
|align=left| Rochester, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|92–16
|align=left| Toxie Hall
|
|10
|1955-11-14
|align=left| Providence, Rhode Island, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|92–15
|align=left| Tommy Hurricane Jackson
|
|
|1955-08-31
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|92–14
|align=left| Tommy Hurricane Jackson       
|
|10 
|1955-08-03
|align=left| Syracuse, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|92–13
|align=left| Paul Andrews      
|
|10 
|1955-07-13
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|- align=center
|Win
|91–13
|align=left| Johnny Holman
|
|10 
|1955-06-08
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|90–13
|align=left| Johnny Holman   
|
|9
|1955-04-27 
|align=left| Miami Beach, Florida, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|90-12
|align=left| Vern Escoe     
|
|10
|1955-04-11
|align=left| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|89–12
|align=left| Charley Norkus      
|
|10 
|1955-02-18
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|88–12
|align=left| Rocky Marciano       
|
|8 
|1954-09-17
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|88–11
|align=left| Rocky Marciano       
|
|
|1954-06-17
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|88–10
|align=left| Bob Satterfield       
|
|2 
|1954-01-13
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|87–10
|align=left| Coley Wallace
|
|10
|1953-12-16
|align=left|  San Francisco, California, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|86–10
|align=left| Harold Johnson
|
|10
|1953-09-08
|align=left| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|86–9
|align=left| Nino Valdez
|
|12
|1953-08-11
|align=left| Miami Beach, Florida, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|86–8
|align=left| Larry Watson
|
|5 
|1953-05-26
|align=left|  Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|85–8
|align=left| Billy Gilliam
|
|10 
|1953-05-12
|align=left| Toledo, Ohio, United States
|- align=center
|Win
|84–8
|align=left| Rex Layne
|
|10 
|1953-04-01
|align=left| San Francisco, California,  United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|83–8
|align=left| Tommy Harrison
|
|12
|1953-02-04
|align=left| MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|82–8
|align=left| Wesbury Bascom      
|
|9 
|1953-01-14
|align=left| St.Louis, Missouri,  United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|81–8
|align=left| Frank Buford      
|
|7 
|1952-12-15
|align=left| Boston, Massachusetts, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|80–8
|align=left| Jimmy Bivins        
|
|10
|1952-11-26
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|79–8
|align=left| Cesar Brion 
|
|10 
|1952-10-24 
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|78–8
|align=left| Bernie Reynolds   
|
|2 
|1952-10-08  
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Loss
|77–8
|align=left| Rex Layne      
|
|10
|1952-08-08
|align=left| Ogden, Utah, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|77–7
|align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott     
|
|15 
|1952-06-05
|align=left| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|77–6
|align=left| Joe Kahut       
|
|8 
|1951-12-21
|align=left| Portland, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|76–6
|align=left| Joey Maxim
|
|15
|1951-12-12
|align=left| San Francisco, California, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|75–6
|align=left| Rex Layne
|
|11 
|1951-10-10
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,  United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|74–6
|align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott
|
|7 
|1951-07-18
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|74–5
|align=left| Joey Maxim
|
|15 
|1951-05-30
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|73–5
|align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott
|
|15 
|1951-03-07
|align=left| Detroit, Michigan, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|72–5
|align=left| Lee Oma
|
|10 
|1951-01-12 
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|71–5
|align=left| Nick Barone
|
|11
|1950-12-05
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|70–5
|align=left| Joe Louis
|
|15 
|1950-09-27
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|69–5
|align=left| Freddie Beshore
|
|14 
|1950-08-15
|align=left| Buffalo, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|68–5
|align=left| Pat Valentino
|
|8 
|1949-10-14
|align=left| San Francisco, California, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|67–5
|align=left| Gus Lesnevich
|
|7 
|1949-08-10 
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|66–5
|align=left| Jersey Joe Walcott
|
|15 
|1949-06-22
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|65–5
|align=left| Joey Maxim
|
|15 
|1949-02-28
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|64–5
|align=left| Johnny Haynes
|
|8 
|1949-02-07 
|align=left| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|63–5
|align=left| Joe Baksi
|
|11 
|1948-12-10
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|62–5
|align=left| Walter Hafer
|
|7 
|1948-11-14
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|61–5
|align=left| Jimmy Bivins
|
|10 
|1948-10-13
|align=left| Washington, D.C., United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|60–5
|align=left| Erv Sarvin
|
|10 
|1948-05-20
|align=left| Buffalo, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|59–5
|align=left| Elmer Ray   
|
|9 
|1948-05-07
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|58–5
|align=left| Sam Baroudi    
| 
|10 
|1948-02-20
|align=left| Chicago, Illinois, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|57–5
|align=left| Archie Moore 
|
|8 
|1948-01-13
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|56–5
|align=left| Hilton "Fitzie" Fitzpatrick
|
|4 
|1947-12-02
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|55-5
|align=left| Teddy Randolph 
|
|10 
|1947-11-03 
|align=left| Buffalo, New York, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|54–5
|align=left| Clarence Jones
|
|1 
|1947-10-27
|align=left| Huntington, West Virginia, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|53–5
|align=left| Al Smith
|
|4 
|1947-10-16
|align=left| Akron, Ohio, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|52–5
|align=left| Lloyd Marshall   
|
|2 
|1947-09-29
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|51–5
|align=left| Joe Matisi 
|
|10
|1947-09-16
|align=left| Buffalo, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|50–5
|align=left| Elmer Ray
|
|10 
|1947-07-25 
|align=left| New York, New York, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|50–4
|align=left| Hilton "Fitzie" Fitzpatrick
|
|5 
|1947-07-14
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|49-4
|align=left| Archie Moore
|
|10
|1947-07-14
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|48–4
|align=left| Erv Sarlin
|
|10 
|1947-05-05
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|47-4
|align=left| Jimmy Bivins
|
|4 
|1947-03-10 
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|46–4
|align=left| "Oakland" Billy Smith 
|
|5 
|1947-02-17
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|45–4
|align=left| Jimmy Bivins
|
|10 
|1946-11-12
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|44–4
|align=left| "Oakland" Billy Smith
|
|10
|1946-09-23 
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|43–4
|align=left| Lloyd Marshall
|
|6 
|1946-07-29
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|42–4
|align=left| Shelton Bell
|
|5 
|1946-06-13
|align=left| Youngstown, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|41–4
|align=left| Archie Moore
|
|10
|1946-05-20
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|40–4
|align=left| Tommy "Lee" Hubert 
|
|4 
|1946-05-13
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|39–4
|align=left| George Parks
|
|6 
|1946-04-15
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|- align=center
|Win
|38–4
|align=left| Billy Duncan
|
|4 
|1946-04-01
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|37–4
|align=left| Tommy "Lee" Hubert
|
|10 
|1946-03-25
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|36–4
|align=left| Al Sheridan
| 
|2 
|1946-02-18
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|35–4
|align=left| Lloyd Marshall 
|
|8 
|1943-03-31
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|loss
|35–3
|align=left| Jimmy Bivins
|
|10 
|1943-01-07
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|35–2
|align=left| Joey Maxim
|
|10 
|1942-12-01
|align=left| Cleveland, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|34–2
|align=left| Joey Maxim
|
|10
|1942-10-27
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|33–2
|align=left| Mose Brown
|
|6 
|1942-09-15
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|32–2
|align=left| Jose Basora
|
|5 
|1942-08-17
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|31–2
|align=left| Booker Beckwith
|
|9 
|1942-06-27
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|30–2
|align=left| Steve Mamakos
|
|1 
|1942-06-14
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|29–2
|align=left| Charley Burley
|
|10 
|1942-06-29
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|28–2
|align=left| Charley Burley
|
|10
|1942-05-25
|align=left| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|27–2
|align=left| Evelio "Kid" Tunero
|
|10
|1942-05-13
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|27–1
|align=left| Billy Pryor
|
|10
|1942-04-08
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|26–1
|align=left| Ken Overlin
|
|10 
|1942-03-02  
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|25–1
|align=left| Anton Christoforidis
|
|3 
|1942-01-13
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|24–1
|align=left| Teddy Yarosz
|
|10 
| 1941-11-07
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|23–1
|align=left| Pat Mangini
|
|1 
|1941-09-13
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|22–1
|align=left| Al Gilbert
|
|6 
|1941-07-21
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|21–1
|align=left| Ken Overlin
|
|10 
|1941-06-09
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|21–0
|align=left| Rudy Kazole
|
|10
|1941-05-12
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|20–0
|align=left| Joe Sutka
|
|10 
|1941-03-31
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|19–0
|align=left| Floyd Howard
|
|7 
|1941-03-10
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|18–0
|align=left| Slaka Cavrich
|
|2 
|1941-02-22
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|17–0
|align=left| Billy Bengal 
|
|10 
|1941-02-10
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|16–0
|align=left| Charlie Jerome
|
|2 
|1940-12-02
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|15–0
|align=left| Fidel Navarro
|
|1 
|1940-11-31
|align=left| Columbus, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|14–0
|align=left| Bill Hood
|
|2 
|1940-10-03
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|13–0
|align=left|  Martin Simmons
|
|10 
|1940-09-23
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|12–0
|align=left| Bradley Lewis
|
|3 
|1940-06-24
|align=left| San Francisco, California, United States

|- align=center
|Win
|11–0
|align=left| John Reeves
|
|4 
|1940-06-12
|align=left| Columbus, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–0
|align=left|  Frankie Williams
|
|7 
|1940-06-05  
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left| Pat Wright
|
|4 
|1940-05-17 
|align=left| Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–0
|align=left| Eddie Fowler
|
|3 
|1940-05-10
|align=left| Portsmouth, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–0
|align=left|  Remo Fernandez
|
|6
|1940-04-24
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–0
|align=left|  Charley Banks
|
|2
|1940-04-16
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–0
|align=left| Kid Ash
|
|3 
|1940-04-10
|align=left| Portsmouth, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–0
|align=left| Charley Banks
|
|6 
|1940-04-02
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–0
|align=left| John Reeves
|
|6 
|1940-03-27
|align=left| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0
|align=left|  Jimmy Brown 
|
|2
|1940-03-20  
|align=left| Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left|  Medley Johnson
|
|3 
|1940-03-15  
|align=left| Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States
|align=left| 
|}

Olympic sports are sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The 2012 Summer Olympics included 26 sports, with two additional sports due to be added to the 2016 Summer Olympics. The 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports.  The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation (IF).  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events. According to this hierarchy, the Olympic sports can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often assumed to be distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo (disciplines of Aquatics, represented by the International Swimming Federation),  or figure skating and speed skating (disciplines of Skating, represented by the International Skating Union).  In their turn, disciplines can be subdivided into events, for which medals are actually awarded. A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries that compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's prevalence. The IOC's requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well—more stringent toward men (as they are represented in higher numbers) and Summer sports (as more nations compete in the Summer Olympics).

Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war.  These sports, known as "discontinued sports", were later removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body. Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games and were later dropped by the IOC, but managed to return to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1988, respectively). Demonstration sports have often been included in the Olympic Games, usually to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest and support for the sport.  Some such sports, like baseball and curling, were added to the official Olympic program (in 1992 and 1998, respectively). Baseball, however, was discontinued after the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Olympic sports definitions

The term "sport" in Olympic terminology refers to all the events that are sanctioned by one international sport federation, a definition that may be different from the common meaning of the word sport. One sport, by Olympic definition, may be divided into several disciplines, which are often regarded as separate sports in common language.

For example: Aquatics is a summer Olympic sport that includes six disciplines: Swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, water polo, open water swimming, and high diving (the last of which is a non-Olympic discipline), since all these disciplines are governed at international level by the International Swimming Federation. Skating is a winter Olympic sport represented by the International Skating Union, and includes four disciplines: figure skating, speed skating (on a traditional long track), short track speed skating and synchronized skating (the latter is a non-Olympic discipline). The sport with the largest number of Olympic disciplines is skiing, with six: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

Other notable multi-discipline sports are gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic and trampoline), cycling (road, track, mountain and BMX), volleyball (indoors and beach), wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman), canoeing (flatwater and slalom) and bobsleigh (includes skeleton). The disciplines listed here are only those contested in the Olympics—gymnastics has two non-Olympic disciplines, while cycling and wrestling have three each.

It should also be noted that the IOC definition of a "discipline" may differ from that used by an international federation. For example, the IOC considers artistic gymnastics a single discipline, but the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) classifies men's and women's artistic gymnastics as separate disciplines.  Similarly, the IOC considers freestyle wrestling to be a single discipline, but United World Wrestling uses "freestyle wrestling" strictly for the men's version, classifying women's freestyle wrestling as the separate discipline of "female wrestling". 

On some occasions, notably in the case of snowboarding, the IOC agreed to add sports which previously had a separate international federation to the Olympics on condition that they dissolve their governing body and instead affiliate with an existing Olympic sport federation, therefore not increasing the number of Olympic sports.

An event, by IOC definition, is a competition that leads to the award of medals. Therefore, the sport of aquatics includes a total of 46 Olympic events, of which 32 are in the discipline of swimming, eight in diving, and two each in synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming. The number of events per sport ranges from a minimum of two (until 2008 there were sports with only one event) to a maximum of 47 in athletics, which despite its large number of events and its diversity is not divided into disciplines.

Changes in Olympic sports

The list of Olympic sports has changed considerably during the course of Olympic history, and has gradually increased until the early 2000s, when the IOC decided to cap the number of sports in the Summer Olympics at 28.

The only summer sports that have never been absent from the Olympic program are athletics, aquatics (the discipline of swimming has been in every Olympics), cycling, fencing, and gymnastics (the discipline of artistic gymnastics has been in every Olympics).

The only winter sports that were included in all Winter Olympic Games are skiing (only nordic skiing), skating (figure skating and speed skating) and ice hockey. Figure skating and ice hockey were also included in the Summer Olympics before the Winter Olympics were introduced in 1924.

For most of the 20th century, demonstration sports were included in many Olympic Games, usually to promote a non-Olympic sport popular in the host country, or to gauge interest and support for the sport.
The competitions and ceremonies in these sports were identical to official Olympic sports, except that the medals were not counted in the official record.
Some demonstration sports, like baseball and curling, were later added to the official Olympic program.
This changed when the International Olympic Committee decided in 1989 to eliminate demonstration sports from Olympics Games after 1992.  An exception was made in 2008, when the Beijing Organizing Committee received permission to organize a wushu tournament.  

A sport or discipline may be included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines that it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries and continents that regularly compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's prevalence. The requirements for winter sports are considerably lower than for summer sports since many fewer nations compete in winter sports. The IOC also has lower requirements for inclusion of sports and disciplines for women for the same reason. 
Women are still barred from several disciplines; but on the other hand, there are women-only disciplines, such as rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming.

Sports that depend primarily on mechanical propulsion, such as motor sports, may not be considered for recognition as Olympic sports, though there were power-boating events in the early days of the Olympics before this rule was enacted by the IOC.   Part of the story of the founding of aviation sports' international governing body, the FAI, originated from an IOC meeting in Brussels, Belgium on June 10, 1905. 

These criteria are only a threshold for consideration as Olympic sport. In order to be admitted to the Olympic program, the IOC Session has to approve its inclusion. There are many sports that easily make the required numbers but are not recognized as Olympic sports, mainly because the IOC has decided to put a limit on the number of sports, as well as events and athletes, in the Summer Olympics in order not to increase them from the 28 sports, 300 events and 10,000 athletes of the 2000 Summer Olympics.

No such limits exist in the Winter Olympics and the number of events and athletes continue to increase, but no sport has been added since 1998. The latest winter sport added to the Winter Olympics was curling in 1998.

Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war. In the early days of the modern Olympics, the organizers were able to decide which sports or disciplines were included on the program, until the IOC took control of the program in 1924. As a result, a number of sports were on the Olympic program for relatively brief periods before 1924. These sports, known as discontinued sports, were removed because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body, or because they became fully professional at the time that the Olympic Games were strictly for amateurs, as in the case of tennis.
Several discontinued sports, such as archery and tennis, were later readmitted to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1984, respectively). Curling, which was an official sport in 1924 and then discontinued, was reinstated as Olympic sport in 1998.

The Olympic Charter decrees that Olympic sports for each edition of the Olympic Games should be decided at an IOC Session no later than seven years prior to the Games.

Changes since 2000

The only sports that have been dropped from the Olympics since 1936 are baseball and softball, which were both voted out by the IOC Session in Singapore on July 11, 2005,  a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006.  These sports were last included in 2008, although officially they remain recognized as Olympic sports in the Olympic Charter. Therefore, the number of sports in the 2012 Summer Olympics was dropped from 28 to 26.

Following the addition of women's boxing in 2012, and women's ski jumping in 2014, there are no Olympic sports that are only for men in those Games.

Two discontinued sports, golf and rugby, are due to return for the 2016 Summer Olympics. On August 13, 2009, the IOC Executive Board proposed that golf and rugby sevens be added to the Olympic program for the 2016 Games.  On 9 October 2009, during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, the IOC voted to admit both sports as official Olympic sports and to include them in the 2016 Summer Olympics. The IOC voted 81–8 in favor of including rugby sevens and 63–27 in favor of reinstating golf, thus bringing the number of sports back to 28. 

In February 2013, the IOC considered dropping a sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics to make way for a new sport. Modern pentathlon and taekwondo were thought to be vulnerable, but instead the IOC recommended dismissing wrestling.  On September 8, 2013, the IOC added wrestling to the 2020 and 2024 Summer Games. 

Summer Olympics

At the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested.  Since then, the number of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to twenty-eight on the program for 2000-2008. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of sports fell back to twenty-six following an IOC decision in 2005 to remove baseball and softball from the Olympic program. These sports retain their status as Olympic sports with the possibility of a return to the Olympic program in future games. At the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen on 9 October 2009, the IOC voted to reinstate both golf and rugby to the Olympic program, meaning that the number of sports to be contested in 2016 will once again be 28. 

In order for a sport or discipline to be considered for inclusion in the list of Summer Olympics sports, it must be widely practiced in at least 75 countries, spread over four continents.

Current and discontinued summer program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current and discontinued Summer Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The discontinued sports were previously part of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet () denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Seven of the 28 sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

 Aquatics –
 Canoeing/Kayak –
 Cycling –
 Gymnastics –
 Volleyball –
 Equestrian –
 Wrestling

Demonstration summer sports

The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

* American football (1932)
* Australian football (1956)
* Ballooning (1900)
* Bowling (1988)
* Boules (1900)
* Budō (1964)
* Finnish baseball (1952)
* Glima (1912)
* Gliding (1936)
* Kaatsen (1928)
* Korfball (1920 and 1928)
* La canne (1924)
* Surf lifesaving (1900)
* Longue paume (1900)
* Motorsport (1900)
* Roller hockey (1992)
* Savate (1924)
* Swedish (Ling) gymnastics (1948)
* Weight training with dumbbells (1904)
* Water skiing (1972)

Gliding was promoted from demonstration sport to an official Olympic sport in 1936 in time for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but the Games were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.  

Classification of Olympic sports for revenue share

Summer Olympic sports are divided into categories based on popularity, gauged by: television viewing figures (40%), internet popularity (20%), public surveys (15%), ticket requests (10%), press coverage (10%), and number of national federations (5%). The category determines the share the sport's International Federation receives of Olympic revenue.  

The current categories are listed below. Category A represents the most popular sports; category E lists either the sports that are the least popular or that are new to the Olympics (golf and rugby).

Winter Olympics

Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were held at the Summer Olympics.  These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics, respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program as of the first edition. The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics has since been decreased to seven, comprising a total of fifteen disciplines. 

A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least 25 countries on three continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.

Current winter program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Winter Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically, according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games (the red cells indicate that those sports were held at the Summer Games); a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.

Three out of the seven sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

 Skating –
 Skiing –
 Bobsleigh

1 As military patrol, see below.

Demonstration winter sports

The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

* Bandy (1952)
* Disabled skiing (1984 and 1988)
* Ice stock sport (1936, 1964)
* Military patrol  (1928, 1936 and 1948)
* Ski ballet (acroski) (1988 and 1992)
* Skijoring (1928)
* Sled-dog racing (1932)
* Speed skiing (1992)
* Winter Pentathlon (1948)

Military patrol was an official skiing event in 1924 but the IOC currently considers it an event of biathlon in those games, and not as a separate sport. Ski ballet, similarly, was simply a demonstration event falling under the scope of freestyle skiing. Disabled sports are now part of the Winter Paralympic Games.

Recognized international federations

Many sports are not recognized as Olympic sports although their governing bodies are recognized by the IOC.  Such sports, if eligible under the terms of the Olympic Charter, may apply for inclusion in the program of future Games, through a recommendation by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission, followed by a decision of the IOC Executive Board and a vote of the IOC Session. When Olympic demonstration sports were allowed, a sport usually appeared as such before being officially admitted. An International Sport Federation (IF) is responsible for ensuring that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter. When a sport is recognized the IF become an official Olympic sport federation and can assemble with other Olympic IFs in the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF, for summer sports contested in the Olympic Games), Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWS, for winter sports contested in the Olympic Games) or Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF, for sports not contested in the Olympic Games). A number of recognized sports are included in the program of the World Games, a multi-sport event run by the International World Games Association, an organization that operates under the patronage of the IOC. Since the start of the World Games in 1981, a number of sports, including badminton, taekwondo and triathlon have all subsequently been incorporated into the Olympic program.

The governing bodies of the following sports, though not contested in the Olympic Games, are recognized by the IOC: 

*  Air sports1,3
*  American football 
*  Auto racing3
*  Bandy
*  Baseball and Softball1,2,4
*  Billiard sports1
*  Boules1
*  Bowling1
* Bridge
*  Chess
*  Cricket2
*  Dance sport1
*  Floorball
*  Karate1
*  Korfball1
*  Lifesaving1
*  Motorcycle racing3
*  Mountaineering and Climbing1
*  Netball
*  Orienteering1
*  Pelota Vasca
*  Polo2
* Powerboating3
*  Racquetball1
*  Roller sports1
* Ski Mountaineering
*  Sport climbing
*  Squash1
*  Sumo1
*  Surfing
*  Tug of war1,2
* Underwater sports1  
*  Ultimate (Flying disc)1  
*  Water ski3
*  Wushu

1 Official sport at the World Games
2 Discontinued Olympic sport
3 Ineligible to be included because the Olympic Charter bans sports with motorization elements
4 The governing bodies for baseball and softball merged into a single international federation in 2013.

1000+ images about Ezzard Charles on Pinterest | Jersey, Days in and James toney
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This Day in Boxing History - December 12, 1951 - Charles KOs Oma at the Garden. Heavyweight Champion Ezzard Charles stops Lee Oma at Madison Square Garden. Referee Ruby Goldstein calls a halt to the action in the 10th round. facebook - boxing hall of fame las vegas www.boxinghalloffame.com http://youtu.be/sUIp7HUmXco
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Ezzard Charles & associates
Ezzard Charles & associates
NBA  Heavyweight Champion 1949-1950
World Heavyweight Champion 1950-1951
A  beautiful promotional photo signed by world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles  and some of those associated with him... Signatures include, among others,  trainers Jimmie Brown and Ray Arcel... All signatures are bold in fountain pen  ink... One of the nicest signed photos I've had of him!!
measures: 8 x 10"
 
FROM THE BOOKS
   For that rare boxing fan with an eye for fistic delicacies, the name Ezzard Charles suggests one of the                        greatest boxers in the history of the sport. But for the                        general boxing public, especially those weaned on the                        exploits of Joe Louis, the name of Ezzard Charles                        initiates a banquet of the malicious. To traditionalists,                        of whom there are many, daring to succeed to the mantle of                        the great Joe Louis was irreverent. But, even worse, to                        actually beat the great Joe Louis in combat bordered on                        blasphemy. It was almost as if the boxing crowd suddenly                        realized that what they had in front of them was not the                        dish they had ordered. And so, Charles, instead of being                        hailed as the heavyweight champion of the world, became                        known merely as the man who beat Joe Louis, destined                        forever to become an antihero to one of the most popular                        names in all of sports.
   This was patently unfair to Charles, one of the great boxers of all                        time, heavyweight or otherwise-and one of its most                        underrated as well. Not because, following in Louis'                        rather large footsteps, it was inevitable that he had to                        suffer in comparison to the man who had served as an idol                        to all for the previous twelve years. But because boxing                        fans, confused by the entrance of a new player-as they                        always are-failed to recognize the genius in this warm,                        sensitive man.
   For even before Ezzard Charles entered the heavyweight ranks, he                        had carried a flame of achievement, first as a                        middleweight and then as a light heavyweight. Some,                        including that venerable boxing voice, Ray Arcel, hold                        that Charles was one of the greatest light heavyweights of                        all time.
Bert Randolph Sugar-The 100 Greatest Boxers Of All                            Time

Ezzard Charles - On This Day
On This Day
Nationality: American
Profession: Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion
Why Famous: Defeated numerous Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. He retired with a record of 93 wins, 25 losses and 1 draw.
Died: May 27 , 1975 (aged 53)
Cause of Death: ALS
Historical Events in the Life of Ezzard Charles
1949-06-22 Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for National Boxing Association world heavyweight title
1949-08-10 Ezzard Charles TKOs Gus Lesnevich in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
1949-10-14 Ezzard Charles TKOs Pat Valentino in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
1949-12-05 Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for heavyweight boxing title
1950-08-05 Ezzard Charles KOs Freddie Beshore to retain heavyweight boxing title
1950-08-15 Ezzard Charles TKOs Freddie Beshore in 14 for heavyweight boxing title
1950-09-27 Ezzard Charles beats Joe Louis in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1950-09-27 Heavyweight champ Ezzard Charles defeats Joe Louis in 15 in Yankee Stadium, Bronx NY.
1950-12-05 Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1951-01-12 Ezzard Charles TKOs Lee Oma in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
1951-03-07 Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for 2nd time to win National Boxing Association world heavyweight title
1951-05-30 Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1952-06-05 Jersey Joe Walcott beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1954-06-17 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1954-09-17 Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in 8 for heavyweight boxing title

50-plus years ago, boxer Ezzard Charles was robbed in Ogden
50-plus years ago, boxer Ezzard Charles was robbed in Ogden
Friday , January 01, 2016 - 5:03 PM
 
Sixty-three summers ago, former world heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles met Utah contender Rex Layne in Ogden. Twenty-five thousand fans packed Ogden Stadium, producing the largest sports gate at that time for Utah.
The fight's a footnote, and I'll get to the "winner." But the backstory, as related by William Dettloff in the biography, " A Boxing Life: Ezzard Charles " (McFarland), is more interesting. ( www.mcfarlandpub.com , 800-253-2187)
Ray Arcel, Charles trainer, had received assurances from Ogden's mayor at the time, a fellow named George T. Frost, that the "main hotel" would accommodate Charles and his crew. But when Arcel met the "main hotel" owner, "who wore a gun on his hip," he was told the hotel would not accommodate (insert "N" word here).
Arcel managed to find other Ogden lodgings for Charles and others. And using the pragmatism needed in an era of racism, he managed to have the gun-toting hotel owner agree to feed Charles and his group, albeit in private rooms.
• RELATED: Ezzard Charles’ professional record
Once in Ogden, Charles discovered that an adequate gym, for final training, had not been provided. Thanks to the efforts of a black sergeant, Charles was able to train at Hill Air Force Base.
The final indignity of Charles' Ogden visit occurred on fight night, Aug. 8, 1952. The former champ easily outboxed the aggressive Layne, winning most of the 10 rounds. However, when it was over, referee Jack Dempsey , a boxing legend who himself had fought in Ogden 36 years earlier, raised Layne's hand in victory .
In a less-regulated era, Dempsey was the sole decider of the bout. Asked by an incredulous press contingent how he came to the decision, the former champ said he scored it 2 rounds Layne, one round Charles, and seven rounds even. He refused to offer details on the ridiculous tally.
Charles, as was his persona, took the "loss" with stoicism. He eventually got two more cracks at the heavyweight title, losing both to Rocky Marciano but giving the unbeaten champ his toughest bout the first time.
The most significant lesson of the Layne bout was that Charles, a superb boxer, a Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the 1950s who frustrated fans by jabbing instead of slugging, would fall prey to spurious decisions as an ex-champ.
As Dettloff notes in his excellent biography, Ezzard Mack Charles was the finest light heavyweight boxer who ever lived. It's kind of ironic that the 175-pounder won the heavyweight title, while never receiving a light heavyweight title shot. Charles, who started boxing in Pittsburgh as a skinny teen, was an amateur star who, despite a short break for World War II moved up the ranks of middleweight and light heavyweight in the 1940s.
In a different world, Charles might have won the light heavyweight world title, defended it 20 times and maybe became the first light heavyweight to win a heavyweight championship. But he lived in the era of Jim Crow. Joe Louis may have controlled the heavyweight championship, but no accommodations were made to have the best fighters be light heavyweight champion. Charles, along with a host of talented black fighters, including Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall, Archie Moore, Charlie Burley, had to fight each other for low purses while lesser white fighters, such as Gus Lesnevich, were called "champ." It must have been satisfying to Charles, once he succeeded Joe Louis as heavyweight champ, to easily dispose of Lesnevich via TKO in a title defense.
Charles was frustrating boxer. He did enough to win, often choosing not to KO opponents. This made him unpopular to fans, who often stayed away from his bouts. It was unfortunate that he followed a legend, Louis, as heavyweight champ. He beat an above-average, older fighter named Jersey Joe Walcott to succeed Louis, whipped Louis when he came back, and defended his title often before Walcott got lucky and finally stopped Charles on an off night. They had a rematch, in which Charles dominated Walcott but didn't get the decision.
He lost, as Dettloff notes, because he didn't seem to really want to dominate his opponent, just do enough to win. A champion can do that, a challenger needs to take the title. As one Charles trainer said, Ezzard was like a well-trained race horse who would not race.
Charles' record, 93-25-1, looks spotty, but most of the losses were in the late 1950s, when he was over the hill, being battered by home-town favorites he could have once swatted aside easily. In what's not uncommon for many champions, Charles had little money left at retirement. He made ends meet in his later years, but was essentially broke. His wife Gladys seems a remarkable woman. She endured his many trysts while a boxer, yet diligently took care of him as his health declined in his 40s and early 50s due to Lou Gehrig's disease. He died in 1975 at age 53. He fought for 19 years as a pro, from 1940 to 1959.
Why did he go broke? Dettloff portrays a man who trusted his advisers, was an easy target for pity loans from friends and acquaintances, and simply didn't save money. There were several ill-advised business ventures as well. Another reason was that Charles, like many boxers of that era, was sliced too thin by trainers and managers. His promoter and managers took 45 percent of his winnings, trainers were paid, New York contacts were paid, and hanger-ons had their share. After taxes I wonder if Charles even saw a third of the money he earned.
A strength of Dettloff's book is that it captures the rogue years of boxing, the 40s and 50s, with its mob-influenced players and the eccentric managers, hangers on, even boxers. Walcott, a fighter surrounded by mobsters, was a deeply pious man who often read his Bible in the dressing room prior to fights. Charles' promoter, a boxing character named Jake Mintz, was known for his malapropisms.
Through all the 19 years, Charles stayed the same, quiet, unassuming, supremely confident, seemingly devoid of emotion. He had little rapport with the fight fans or reporters; he was simply the best heavyweight boxer around for several years. When his time was over, few were unhappy. Charles kept going to the gym, kept training, kept fighting until losses exceeded wins and Gladys finally convinced him to quit.
When his health began to fail, Dettloff recounts a benefit held for Charles in his adopted city of Chicago. It was a success with many of his former opponents, Walcott, Marciano, Louis, Moore, all paying him tribute. Plaudits and cheers, so rare for Charles after he won a world title, must have been appreciated.
"A Boxing Life: Ezzard Charles" offers a boxing history lesson. It helps explain why many black fighters of yesteryear, even if as talented as a Mayweather of today, rarely experienced wealth and ultimately retained little of the fortunes they earned for others.
dgibson@standard.net

A Name From History: Ezzard Charles, one of the greatest boxers ever, to become part of cityscape - Insider - Story
A Name From History: Ezzard Charles, one of the greatest boxers ever, to become part of cityscape
Three story mural being painted by ArtWorks
Brent Coleman, WCPO Contributor
4:02 AM, Jun 24, 2015
5:35 AM, Jun 24, 2015
Ezzard Charles learned to box in Cincinnati and made it his home during his 19-year professional boxing career. Photo courtesy of boxingnewsonline.net
Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Show Caption
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CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati’s first world boxing champion is making a comeback this summer.
ArtWorks public art program participants will paint a mural of the legendary Ezzard Charles (1921-1975) on the side of a three-story brick building at 1537 Republic St. in Over-the-Rhine.
Charles reigned as world heavyweight champion for 16 months after he defeated Jersey Joe Wolcott on June 22, 1949. A precise practitioner of punching, Charles fought for more heavyweight titles than any fighter except Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Joe Louis.
There’s no counting the number of punches that hit the head and midsection of Ezzard Mack Charles in his 42 amateur and 122 professional fights. Known as “The Cincinnati Cobra,” Charles endured shots from great boxers such as Louis, Rocky Marciano, Archie Moore and Jersey Joe Walcott because he wanted to be the heavyweight champion.
And from June 22, 1949 to July 18, 1951 he was on top of the boxing world. Life after that, however, wasn’t the same. When he died at age 53, Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) had robbed him of almost everything.
Become a WCPO Insider to read more about Ezzard Charles, the first heavyweight boxing champion of the world from Cincinnati.
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A Name From History: Ezzard Charles, one of the greatest boxers ever, to become part of cityscape
Three story mural being painted by ArtWorks
Brent Coleman, WCPO Contributor
4:02 AM, Jun 24, 2015
5:35 AM, Jun 24, 2015
Share Article
Ezzard Charles learned to box in Cincinnati and made it his home during his 19-year professional boxing career. Photo courtesy of boxingnewsonline.net
Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Show Caption
Next
CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati’s first world boxing champion is making a comeback this summer.
ArtWorks public art program participants will paint a mural of the legendary Ezzard Charles (1921-1975) on the side of a three-story brick building at 1537 Republic St. in Over-the-Rhine.
Charles reigned as world heavyweight champion for 16 months after he defeated Jersey Joe Wolcott on June 22, 1949. A precise practitioner of punching, Charles fought for more heavyweight titles than any fighter except Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Joe Louis.
'Cincinnati Cobra' Fought 164 Times
There’s no counting the number of punches that hit the head and midsection of Ezzard Mack Charles in his 42 amateur and 122 professional fights. Known as "The Cincinnati Cobra," Charles endured shots from great boxers such as Louis, Rocky Marciano, Archie Moore and Jersey Joe Walcott because he wanted to be the heavyweight champion.
And from June 22, 1949 to July 18, 1951, he was on top of the boxing world. Life after that, however, wasn’t the same. When he died at age 53, Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS)  had robbed him of almost everything.
"At the end he could not move his hands and he lived in a wheelchair," wrote Cincinnati Post Sports Editor Pat Harmon on the day Charles died. "But, friends said, he could move some of his facial muscles, and he always had a smile on his face when visitors called."
Charles was beloved by Cincinnatians, who had 32 chances to watch the smooth, tactical fighter work his magic in local arenas such as Music Hall and Crosley Field. He was active in the community, an accomplished jazz musician and could speak Spanish and Italian fluently.
The city so loved Charles that, upon his death, its leaders changed the name of Lincoln Park Drive in the West End to Ezzard Charles Drive. Hamilton County inducted him into its Sports Hall of Fame in 1967.
Georgia Native Known As 'Snooks'
Charles was born in Lawrenceville, Ga., on July 7, 1921. Census records show he lived with his grandmother, Belle Russell, and two cousins in Gwinnett County when he was eight. Ten years later, the 1940 Census recorded him living with another grandmother, Maude Foster, and his cousin, Louis Foster.
Charles, whose childhood nickname was "Snooks," attended school in Cincinnati and learned to box in the Diamond Gloves program and later the Golden Gloves and AAU tournaments, according to Harmon. He won various welterweight and middleweight championships as an amateur.
Charles turned professional in 1940, the year he turned 19. He fought 42 times, posting a 37-4-1 record, before serving 16 months in the Army during World War II. Charles resumed boxing in February 1946 and won his next 15 fights.
A fight-by-fight record on the website boxrec.com shows that Music Hall, which stands just blocks from where Charles grew up, was where he fought most often early in his career. He had a 23-1-1 record there. Those wins included an impressive victory over Archie Moore, who went on to be the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in boxing history.
According to an Associated Press account of the May 5, 1947 fight posted on boxrec.com, "Charles floored Moore for nine (count) in the seventh (from a left hook to the body) and slowed him to a walk for the rest of the way.” Charles went on to beat Moore two more times.
The year 1948 was a rough one for Charles. He fought 20-year-old Sam Baroudi on Feb. 20 in Chicago Stadium, and the younger but experienced man put up a good fight.
The United Press reported that "The bout ended when Charles connected with three savage blows to the head that straightened Baroudi out of his crouch. A hard left to the midsection sent him to the canvas."
Baroudi fell to the floor in a coma and died of a brain hemorrhage in a Chicago hospital five hours later. A brain surgeon who examined Baroudi said the knockout blows which felled him 47 seconds into the final round caused the hemorrhage.
Baroudi’s death did not slow Charles’ career, but it "stayed with him as though his own shadow," wrote boxing.com reporter Clarence George.
Top Contenders Fights For Louis' Title
When reigning heavyweight champion Joe Louis retired in 1949, Charles, even though he fought as light heavyweight for almost all of his career, had earned the right to fight for the vacated title against Jersey Joe Walcott in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The 180-pound Charles won in a close fight and defended his title six times, including beating Louis in his comeback attempt.
Charles’ 1951 rematch with Walcott was closer than the first fight, Harmon wrote, but he won. After that, "Charles went about his business, making seven successful defenses of his crown, before the managers, Tom Tannas and Jake Mintz from Pittsburgh, made their mistake. They matched Charles with Walcott again.”
This time, Walcott knocked Charles out in the eighth round, and although he got a rematch with Walcott and two more shots at the title against Marciano, Charles never wore a championship belt again.
"After he lost the title," Harmon wrote, "he said 'What I miss most of all is walking around the neighborhood in Cincinnati and not having the little kids run up and call me Champ.'"
Charles fought 32 times in Cincinnati as a professional. His last local fight took place at a school in Lincoln Heights. Charles was 38 years old and weighed the most he had ever weighed for a fight, 261 pounds, according to boxrec.com.He, nevertheless, defeated policeman David Ashley in a technical knockout.
A story in the Spokane Daily chronicle said the “blubbery” ex-champ was paid "a few hundred bucks."
The Cincinnati Cobra lost his two last bouts and retired after 19 years as a professional boxer. His only son, Ezzard Charles II told the Gwinnett Daily News in 2010 that his father rarely spoke of his boxing career, preferring instead to focus on the future.
Quiet But Constructive Life After Retirement
Charles, who had three children, worked several jobs after the end of his boxing days, according to the Cincinnati Historical Library and Archives' website, library.cincymuseum.org.
He was a safety inspector for the State of Ohio and then a bouncer at a Northern Kentucky nightclub. He tried professional wrestling using the name "Cincinnati Cobra." He moved to Chicago and in 1967 was working for Youth Welfare.
According to the Post, the Ezzard Charles School, which uses the Montessori Method, opened in Chicago’s south side. Today, it serves as a daycare center and school for young children of low-income families.
Charles died on morning of May 28, 1975 and was buried at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill. That very day, the Post’s Harmon wrote this about Charles:
"Charles was a sharp boxer who cut and slashed his opponents. … He was kept in action long past his prime in an effort to get back in the limelight. … He had the finest attitude of any man I ever met in sport."
Charles was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He was ranked No. 27 on ESPN's list of the all-time greatest boxers of all weights, ahead of the likes of Roberto Duran, Larry Holmes, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Rob Pilger, a boxing historian, former fighter and boxing trainer in Columbus ranked Charles No. 5 on his list of the all-time pound-for-pound best boxers.
Wrote Pilger in 2010: "Ezzard Charles could display the sweet science at its finest. He would feint, slip, roll, counter, do it all. To some, he may have been dull. But those who understood boxing see him as a true artist. Many believe Ezzard to be the best light heavyweight ever, although he never won a title there."
Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Ezzard Charles | American boxer | Britannica.com
Ezzard Charles
Alternative Title: Ezzard Mack Charles
Ezzard Charles
Evander Holyfield
Ezzard Charles, in full Ezzard Mack Charles (born July 7, 1921, Lawrenceville, Georgia , U.S.—died May 28, 1975, Chicago , Illinois ), American world heavyweight boxing champion from September 27, 1950, when he outpointed Joe Louis in 15 rounds in New York City , to July 18, 1951, when he was knocked out by Jersey Joe Walcott in 7 rounds in Pittsburgh .
Ezzard Charles (right) boxing Joe Louis during their heavyweight title bout, 1950.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Ezzard won several amateur championships, including two Golden Gloves crowns—welterweight (1938) and middleweight (1939)—before turning professional in 1940. Before winning the heavyweight championship, he had won the National Boxing Association title by defeating Walcott on June 22, 1949. In attempts to regain the world championship, he lost to Walcott in 1952 and twice to Rocky Marciano in 1954. From 1940 to 1959 Charles fought 122 bouts, winning 96, of which 58 were by knockout. Ezzard was inducted into Ring magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame in 1970.
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May 13, 1914 Lafayette, Alabama, U.S. April 12, 1981 Las Vegas, Nevada American boxer who was world heavyweight champion from June 22, 1937, when he knocked out James J. Braddock in eight rounds in Chicago, until March 1, 1949, when he briefly retired. During his reign, the longest in the history...
Jersey Joe Walcott
Jan. 31, 1914 Merchantville, N.J., U.S. Feb. 25, 1994 Camden, N.J. American world heavyweight boxing champion from July 18, 1951, when he knocked out Ezzard Charles in seven rounds in Pittsburgh, Pa., until Sept. 23, 1952, when he was knocked out by Rocky Marciano in 13 rounds in Philadelphia.
Golden Gloves
amateur boxing competition initiated by Arch Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune. First sponsored by the Tribune in 1926, annual tournaments were held between Chicago and New York teams from 1927. The New York organizer was Paul Gallico of the New York Daily News. In later years the idea was...
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Date Published: January 11, 2002
URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ezzard-Charles
Access Date: January 19, 2017
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