BoxRec

I have a story on the final fight between Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore up on The Cruelest Sport.

Check it out here: When The Cobra Caught The Mongoose

ahh....here we go....Perpetuating the myth around the greatest series of flukes in boxing History.

This was like the Roulette wheel (along with lady luck) got stuck on Red (Or black...your choice) and simply refused to yield to the other color.

Ezzard never had such good luck as when he stepped in the ring with Archie.

Both were great. And they were far more evenly matched than a quick glance at their series of fights would ever reveal.

Had it gone best 4 out of 7, we would be having an entirely different conversation.

OldAndy wrote:I have a story on the final fight between Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore up on The Cruelest Sport.

Check it out here: When The Cobra Caught The Mongoose

Awesome article. Ezzard could well have been the most talented fighter that has ever lived.

I've never seen extensive footage of both at their best, but I'm quite certain they're in the same ballpark.

Like I said to detractors of Pacquiao following his kayo loss to Marquez, when you have prime greats such as these fighting numerous times, you are bound to get some crazy results now and then. Moore/Charles was no exception. I do know that Moore said the toughest man he ever fought was Burley, which seems odd considering Moore was kayoed by Charles. As great as Archie was, I can't think of a man (not named Langford) who had such high success in his career as Charles did. Beaten the best middleweights and wasnt given a shot, beaten the best light heavyweights and wasnt given a shot, becomes heavyweight king, I mean this guy was extraordinary.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

OldAndy wrote:I have a story on the final fight between Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore up on The Cruelest Sport.

Check it out here: When The Cobra Caught The Mongoose

Awesome article. Ezzard could well have been the most talented fighter that has ever lived.

Thanks. Ezzard really was a remarkable talent. People have come around to how good he was, but it's a shame he didn't get the credit he deserved during his career.

HomicideHenry wrote:Like I said to detractors of Pacquiao following his kayo loss to Marquez, when you have prime greats such as these fighting numerous times, you are bound to get some crazy results now and then. Moore/Charles was no exception. I do know that Moore said the toughest man he ever fought was Burley, which seems odd considering Moore was kayoed by Charles. As great as Archie was, I can't think of a man (not named Langford) who had such high success in his career as Charles did. Beaten the best middleweights and wasnt given a shot, beaten the best light heavyweights and wasnt given a shot, becomes heavyweight king, I mean this guy was extraordinary.

Indeed, anyone can walk into the perfect shot. Ezzard eventually suffered the same fate against Walcott.

It does seem odd that Archie didn't mention Ezzard as one of his toughest opponents, but as I mentioned in the story, Ezzard kind of tricked Archie...so who knows, perhaps he held a bit of a grudge.

Archie belongs in the same class.

But I know what's next.....Jaclem will be crawling out of the woodwork, telling us that ol' Ezz was the "Bezz daz evuh been". And I wouldnt' disagree, at least not overly so.

BoxBuzz wrote:Archie belongs in the same class.

But I know what's next.....Jaclem will be crawling out of the woodwork, telling us that ol' Ezz was the "Bezz daz evuh been". And I wouldnt' disagree, at least not overly so.

I'm not really sure what you've been on about in your responses in this thread. Nowhere in my story did I imply that Archie didn't belong in that class. It was a piece about their final fight, not a comparison of their overall careers or an argument over who was better.

Old Andy, Can you just call ya "Old"? (Only meant endearingly, as I too am quite a ways down the pike in years).

It's all good, The Ezz and Archie thing has had my attention since I was a very young lad. Archie, is my all time favoritie pugilist. And Ezz not too far down the list.


I'm just glad we are talking about these guys. lol Anything said at all is appreciated.

BoxBuzz wrote:Old Andy, Can you just call ya "Old"? (Only meant endearingly, as I too am quite a ways down the pike in years).

It's all good, The Ezz and Archie thing has had my attention since I was a very young lad. Archie, is my all time favoritie pugilist. And Ezz not too far down the list.


I'm just glad we are talking about these guys. lol Anything said at all is appreciated.

Fair enough, all good. Both fighters are among my all-time favorites.

I wish there was more footage of a prime Charles. Aside from a couple of his Heavyweight fights, they don't really seem to do him justice. Doesn't look anywhere near the talent that Ray was in most of the available footage. Good thing that Marshall footage surfaced a few years back. Awesome stuff. One of his Heavyweight bouts (I forget the name of the opponent, but he wasn't particularly skilled, white guy) looks very impressive as well, but taking into account the level of opponent, a grain of salt can be taken with it. I do like his performance against Louis, too. Very smart boxing.

Obviously his record is remarkable, and deserving of a very high placing all of its own, but I really wish there was more quality footage of the man at his best. A lot of the stuff from his latter career is, dare I say it, pretty boring to watch (I really don't like when fights revolve around clinching, as a lot of his seemed to do in the later stages of his career). Again, no black mark against him, just what I've seen. Still rates very highly for me, in the top 5 or 6.