Hi, some time ago i read Bill Dettloff book about Ezzard Charles and something that made me think was the mention of Charles first trainer Bert Williams a local trainer from welsh descent.
Normally when people mentions his trainer the names to come are Jimmy Brown and Ray Arcel.
So, any of you guys have any info on Mr. Bert Williams the men who engineered the fighting machine that Ezzard Charles was.
Style, techniques that he taught, any stories of him???
Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
calling jaclem, He knew him I believe...
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
damn.....i wrote a long reply to this....and somehow it got erased. so:
This is the best i can do, as i am going by memory of things i learned over the years mostly from the ezzard charles camp and a sportswriter....all od whom are gone now. to the best of my recollection ----
when ezzard was a skinny school kid he decided he wanted to be a boxer. he went to one of the boxing gyms in cincinnati and met bert williams, who hung out there and was always around fighters and fights and was well known in the fight game. he liked what he saw in ezzard--his determination...so he began training him and entered him in amateur tournaments and ezzard won all of his fights. this was as a welterweight. williams decided to turn him pro. and both managed and trained him in his early fights. after 22 fights he matched him against ken overlin, a former champ and a real cutie. he was willing to come into cincinnati to fight in ezzard's home town because he said, "no kid with only 22 fights is going to beat me." he was right and he totslly outclassed and out smarted ezzard.
from here on i am vague on the time table and in charles's fights. williams may have stayed as manager and trainer for a while...probably as long as the overlin re-match or even longer.
there was a clothing store in cincinnati which had a black and white clientele, ezzard went to work there after school and between fights. the owner was max elkus and ezzard was very fond of him and max decided he wanted to manage charles and bought part of his contract with williams. eventually two local business men wanted a part of ezzard's contract, so now the owners were elkus, deier and reihn (sp)
they discovered the contract between ezz and williams wasn't binding because ezz signed it when he was still a minor. they then had charles sign a new contract with his grandmother....his legal guardian ..as co-signer. thy kept williams on as trainer for a while, but then replaced him with jimmy brown.
williams was furious and felt cheated. some years later, when ezzard was a leading light heavy, williams claimed that charles had not really won all of his amateur fights, that he padded them[this was a big story in the papers,] but the fights were a matter of record and proved to be all winners. i was told by the ezzard camp never to ask him about williams because ezzard was ashamed of how he had been treated.
best i can do. hope it helps a little.
This is the best i can do, as i am going by memory of things i learned over the years mostly from the ezzard charles camp and a sportswriter....all od whom are gone now. to the best of my recollection ----
when ezzard was a skinny school kid he decided he wanted to be a boxer. he went to one of the boxing gyms in cincinnati and met bert williams, who hung out there and was always around fighters and fights and was well known in the fight game. he liked what he saw in ezzard--his determination...so he began training him and entered him in amateur tournaments and ezzard won all of his fights. this was as a welterweight. williams decided to turn him pro. and both managed and trained him in his early fights. after 22 fights he matched him against ken overlin, a former champ and a real cutie. he was willing to come into cincinnati to fight in ezzard's home town because he said, "no kid with only 22 fights is going to beat me." he was right and he totslly outclassed and out smarted ezzard.
from here on i am vague on the time table and in charles's fights. williams may have stayed as manager and trainer for a while...probably as long as the overlin re-match or even longer.
there was a clothing store in cincinnati which had a black and white clientele, ezzard went to work there after school and between fights. the owner was max elkus and ezzard was very fond of him and max decided he wanted to manage charles and bought part of his contract with williams. eventually two local business men wanted a part of ezzard's contract, so now the owners were elkus, deier and reihn (sp)
they discovered the contract between ezz and williams wasn't binding because ezz signed it when he was still a minor. they then had charles sign a new contract with his grandmother....his legal guardian ..as co-signer. thy kept williams on as trainer for a while, but then replaced him with jimmy brown.
williams was furious and felt cheated. some years later, when ezzard was a leading light heavy, williams claimed that charles had not really won all of his amateur fights, that he padded them[this was a big story in the papers,] but the fights were a matter of record and proved to be all winners. i was told by the ezzard camp never to ask him about williams because ezzard was ashamed of how he had been treated.
best i can do. hope it helps a little.
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
fascinating......thanks !
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
jaclem3 wrote:damn.....i wrote a long reply to this....and somehow it got erased. so:
This is the best i can do, as i am going by memory of things i learned over the years mostly from the ezzard charles camp and a sportswriter....all od whom are gone now. to the best of my recollection ----
when ezzard was a skinny school kid he decided he wanted to be a boxer. he went to one of the boxing gyms in cincinnati and met bert williams, who hung out there and was always around fighters and fights and was well known in the fight game. he liked what he saw in ezzard--his determination...so he began training him and entered him in amateur tournaments and ezzard won all of his fights. this was as a welterweight. williams decided to turn him pro. and both managed and trained him in his early fights. after 22 fights he matched him against ken overlin, a former champ and a real cutie. he was willing to come into cincinnati to fight in ezzard's home town because he said, "no kid with only 22 fights is going to beat me." he was right and he totslly outclassed and out smarted ezzard.
from here on i am vague on the time table and in charles's fights. williams may have stayed as manager and trainer for a while...probably as long as the overlin re-match or even longer.
there was a clothing store in cincinnati which had a black and white clientele, ezzard went to work there after school and between fights. the owner was max elkus and ezzard was very fond of him and max decided he wanted to manage charles and bought part of his contract with williams. eventually two local business men wanted a part of ezzard's contract, so now the owners were elkus, deier and reihn (sp)
they discovered the contract between ezz and williams wasn't binding because ezz signed it when he was still a minor. they then had charles sign a new contract with his grandmother....his legal guardian ..as co-signer. thy kept williams on as trainer for a while, but then replaced him with jimmy brown.
williams was furious and felt cheated. some years later, when ezzard was a leading light heavy, williams claimed that charles had not really won all of his amateur fights, that he padded them[this was a big story in the papers,] but the fights were a matter of record and proved to be all winners. i was told by the ezzard camp never to ask him about williams because ezzard was ashamed of how he had been treated.
best i can do. hope it helps a little.
Thanks Mr. Jaclem yeah i read in an old article that every time Charles saw Williams he couldnt look at him at the eyes.
Where you part of his trainning camp?
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
no, prepaser....that was long before my time. i was just a kid then. i did get to know people connected with my idol
, ezzard, years later. my main sources of information were bobby elkus...one of max's three sons, and most of all, my good friend Richard Christmas, who died a year or so ago. he was ezzard's right hand and whom ezzzard was allowed to go out of town or pursue his career only if richard was with him.this was at ezz's grandmother or his great grandmother's insistence . they raised him. his mother went off to new york when ezz was just child. there was never any reference to his father and i never asked.
when evrer i met ezzard, mostly when he came on my radio show, richard was with him, and that's how we became friends. richard became a matchmaker and i was t all of his shows. he was the one who backed the ambulance up to the hospitals to find opponents for aaron pryor...but that is a much different story and boxbuzz will remind me i retired from posting any comments about pryor several years ago.
, ezzard, years later. my main sources of information were bobby elkus...one of max's three sons, and most of all, my good friend Richard Christmas, who died a year or so ago. he was ezzard's right hand and whom ezzzard was allowed to go out of town or pursue his career only if richard was with him.this was at ezz's grandmother or his great grandmother's insistence . they raised him. his mother went off to new york when ezz was just child. there was never any reference to his father and i never asked.
when evrer i met ezzard, mostly when he came on my radio show, richard was with him, and that's how we became friends. richard became a matchmaker and i was t all of his shows. he was the one who backed the ambulance up to the hospitals to find opponents for aaron pryor...but that is a much different story and boxbuzz will remind me i retired from posting any comments about pryor several years ago.
Re: Bert Williams (Ezzard Charles 1st trainer) any info on him?
jaclem3 wrote:no, prepaser....that was long before my time. i was just a kid then. i did get to know people connected with my idol
, ezzard, years later. my main sources of information were bobby elkus...one of max's three sons, and most of all, my good friend Richard Christmas, who died a year or so ago. he was ezzard's right hand and whom ezzzard was allowed to go out of town or pursue his career only if richard was with him.this was at ezz's grandmother or his great grandmother's insistence . they raised him. his mother went off to new york when ezz was just child. there was never any reference to his father and i never asked.
when evrer i met ezzard, mostly when he came on my radio show, richard was with him, and that's how we became friends. richard became a matchmaker and i was t all of his shows. he was the one who backed the ambulance up to the hospitals to find opponents for aaron pryor...but that is a much different story and boxbuzz will remind me i retired from posting any comments about pryor several years ago.
Speaking about Charles i've found this video today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7_XHcGsViQ