Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles (2nd meeting)
| Org. | Pos. | As of | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1+ Mth. Old | |||
| NBA | 1 | 13.04.1954 | 13.04.1954 |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2+ Mth. Old | |||
| NBA | 1 | 13.04.1954 | 13.04.1954 |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 3+ Mth. Old | |||
| NBA | 1 | 13.04.1954 | 13.04.1954 |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Ezzard Charles 192 lbs lost to Rocky Marciano 187 lbs by KO at 2:36 in round 8 of 15
- Date: 1954-09-17
- Location: Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York, USA
- Referee: Al Berl 1-5
- Judge: Frank Forbes 1-6
- Judge: Artie Aidala 1-6
- World Heavyweight Championship (4th defense by Marciano)
- Named Fight of the Year by The Ring
- See also: Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles (1st meeting)
Notes
- Marciano and Charles publicly signed the deal on August 3.[1]
- Just as their first fight, Marciano was guaranteed 40% from the ticket sales revenue and Charles was guaranteed 20%.
- Charles came in 7 lbs heavier, while Marciano remained roughly the same.
- This bout was twice postponed. It was originally scheduled to take place on September 15th but was delayed to the 16th due to a forecast of rain. On the 16th it was rescheduled again to the 17th for the same reason.
- Having this bout now taking place on a Friday ran into another issue. The IBC lease on boxing rights in Yankee stadium contained a clause forbidding a fight to be staged at either ballpark (Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds, Giants Stadium) when a game is being played at the other. Mistakenly believing the Phillies and Giants were playing at the Polo Grounds in the afternoon, the IBC was told by Giants President Horace Stoneham that their evening game prevented the fight from taking place. IBC President Jim Norris finally negotiated a compromise allowing the fight to take place, but at the late hour of 11:00 pm.
- Gate - $352,654
- Unofficial UP scorecard (through 7 completed rounds) - 6-1 Marciano
Marciano Runs His Record to 47-0
By Joseph C. Nichols, New York Times, September 17, 1954
Rocky Marciano retained the world heavyweight championship at the Yankee Stadium tonight. The undefeated boxer from Brockton, Mass., knocked out the former titleholder, Ezzard Charles, in the eighth round of a scheduled fifteen-round contest. A left hook and a right cross to the jaw put Charles down for the full count after he had been floored earlier in the session for the count of four with a long right to the head. On the second knockdown in the concluding round, Charles just managed to reach his feet a split second after Referee Al Beri had counted ten but Ez made no move to continue the hostilities.
The victory was Marciano's No. 47 in as many professional fights, a record unique in the history of the heavyweight division. And his knockout was the forty-first such conquest in his professional career. It was the second fight between the pair and the result was just about what most fans expected. Marciano was the favorite, at odds of 9 to 2, to dispose of the skillful Negro from Cincinnati, with a knockout ending being generally predicted.
In their first fight, last June 17, Rocky was expected to dispose of Ez by a knockout, but the latter surprised the boxing world by waging a willing, game fight that went the limit before Rocky got the unanimous decision. In contrast to their other clash, tonight's contest was one-sided, with Marciano winning every round except the first one on this observer's scorecard. Besides registering the two knockdowns in the eighth round, Rocky also felled his opponent in the second session. He dropped him in the second with a right to the jaw, followed by a two-fisted attack to the body.
After he was dropped in the second, Ezzard seemed to have the steam taken out of him. In all the fifteen rounds of their previous fight, Ezzard stood up under Rocky's vaunted punch without going down once. When he did find out that the Brockton Rock really could punch, Charles became cautious, and his leads were infrequent.
A turn of fortune appeared to come Charles' way in the sixth when Marciano, emerging from a clinch, showed a nasty cut straight up the tip of his nose. Ezzard made this wound a target, and also punched for a cut that opened beside Rocky's left eye in the eighth, but the champion showed that he had enough to stand up against this sort of punishment. Despite the fact that his victory was a decisive one and virtually foreordained, Marciano lost the sympathy of a good many in the crowd by his inclination to skirt the rules. Twice he was guilty of hitting after the bell, and once he was warned for heeling Ezzard in a close-quarters exchange. [2]
Post-fight comments
- "This was undoubtedly my best fight. I don't think I ever fought anywhere near that good before." -Rocky Marciano
- "If it had gone two more rounds I'd have won it. Rocky'd have been cut up too much to continue. His nose was busted and he was cut bad over the eye. I don't think he could have gone past 10 rounds. My luck just ran out and I got clipped." -Ezzard Charles