Like it says on the back of that 48' Leaf custom card, Ezzard Charles was the only fighter in history to go 15 rounds with Marciano, the entire championship distance. It was June 17th, 1954, their first of two fights, Ezzard was past his prime and already showing the effects of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), the disease that would eventually take his life at the age of 53. Ezzard gave Marciano all he could handle that night, he boxed brilliantly and threw body shots at Marciano with great success; he also opened up a two inch long and one inch deep cut over Marciano's left eye. But Rocky turned the tide with relentless pressure, he threw everything and the kitchen sink at Ezzard in the 15th and final round, Marciano tried with everything he had to knock Ezzard out, he went at Ezzard like a man possessed, he threw some 100 punches at Ezzard that round, the majority power punches, but Ezzard just wouldn't go, he had a granite chin and the heart of a warrior. Marciano would later say that Ezzard Charles was the toughest fighter he ever faced.
1992 Victoria Gallery - Boxing Champions - Black Back - Ezzard Charles. I don't know how the hell Victoria Gallery even found this image of Ezzard to use on a card, I had to do some serious digging to find it.
Check this out, the Ezzard Charles bronze statue is located at Ezzard Charles Park (formerly Laurel Park) in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It's one of the coolest statues I've ever seen, the Cobras at the bottom of the statue near his feet are particularly awesome, a nod to his nickname "The Cincinnati Cobra."
1955 All American Sports Club - Ezzard Charles. After much digging, I came darn close to finding the photo to match up with this, but missed it by a hair. Just look at this, it's enough to make you sick.
I can't find the photo that matches up with this card, but I really love this set and this card, the 1998 Futera Platinum - Boxing Legends - Ezzard Charles.
Can't find the photo to match up with this one either, the 1951 Topps Ringside - Ezzard Charles. This card is tough to find in high grade, absolutely brutal.
This is a mural of Ezzard Charles, designed by artist Jason Snell and created by ArtWorks. The artwork is located at the intersection of Liberty Street and Republic Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. It commemorates Charles as the Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1949 to 1951. The mural was officially unveiled in 2015 as part of ArtWorks' public art program. Cool stuff.
You know, it just occurred to me, I've been working on this thread for over a year now. Here's a little video to celebrate, you'll want to watch this, I promise you won't regret it.
Check this out, this a photo of Ezzard Charles and his team after it was announced that he had been awarded the decision against Jersey Joe Walcott on June 22, 1949 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, and that he was the new World Heavyweight Champion. His manager Jake Mintz literally fainted and you can see him in the lower right hand corner of the bottom photo being helped.
Ezzard Charles, beautiful violence. My goodness, watching this highlights video gives me goosebumps. You can certainly see why he was called "The Cincinnati Cobra", he struck with the speed and lethal precision of a snake.
Marcel Cerdan was an elite, legendary world champion and widely considered the greatest French boxer in history. Nicknamed "Le Bombadier Marocain" or "The Moroccan Bomber," he compiled a stunning career record of 110 wins and only 4 losses, capturing European titles and the undisputed world middleweight title. He went undefeated through his first 110 fights (with his only two early losses coming via controversial disqualifications while winning). He captured the World Middleweight Title on September 21, 1948, by knocking out the legendary Tony Zale in 12 rounds. Cerdan combined ferocious, non-stop punching power with brilliant technical pressure, making him feared in multiple weight divisions. He lost his title to Jake LaMotta in 1949 only because he dislocated his shoulder in the first round, forcing his corner to stop the fight after the ninth round despite fighting heroically with one arm. His life was cut short at age 33 when he died in an October 1949 airplane crash while flying to New York to prepare for a rematch against LaMotta. We'll start off with my favorite Cerdan card, the 1948 Leaf Gum - Marcel Cerdan.
1985 Poulain - Grands Noms Du Sport - Marcel Cerdan. I love this set, they are paper thin stickers issued by the Poulain chocolate company in France, Muhammad Ali has a sticker in this set as well.
1987 Sports et Adventures - Marcel Cerdan. This is a very mysterious card to me, I've seen a few different variations of it, here are two of them, one with a biography on the front and a quiz on the back, the other with a blank front and a biography on the back. The language on both variations is written in French. It's a fascinating issue, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali also have a card in this set.
2001 JF Sporting Collectibles - Boxers World Champions - Marcel Cerdan. They actually used Stanley Weston's 1949 artwork for the image of Cerdan on this card. The artwork appeared on the cover of the January 1949 issue of Ring magazine.
ACEO Swedish Boxing Game Card - Marcel Cerdan. Love the way they put his nickname on here, "Le Bombadier Marocain" which is French for "The Moroccan Bomber ."
Marcel Cerdan earned the nickname "Le Bombardier Marocain" (The Moroccan Bomber) because of his explosive knockout power in both hands. He knocked out over half of his 114 opponents, 65 to be exact. Watching this highlights video of him, you can see that he was aggressive as hell and when he let his hands go he didn't hold back, he was indeed dropping bombs.
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2025 Historic Autographs - Famous Americans - Stained Glass #/15 - Ezzard Charles.
This is cool, Ezzard Charles never had a 1948 Leaf Gum card so someone made an ACEO custom card in the 48' Leaf design.
Like it says on the back of that 48' Leaf custom card, Ezzard Charles was the only fighter in history to go 15 rounds with Marciano, the entire championship distance. It was June 17th, 1954, their first of two fights, Ezzard was past his prime and already showing the effects of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), the disease that would eventually take his life at the age of 53. Ezzard gave Marciano all he could handle that night, he boxed brilliantly and threw body shots at Marciano with great success; he also opened up a two inch long and one inch deep cut over Marciano's left eye. But Rocky turned the tide with relentless pressure, he threw everything and the kitchen sink at Ezzard in the 15th and final round, Marciano tried with everything he had to knock Ezzard out, he went at Ezzard like a man possessed, he threw some 100 punches at Ezzard that round, the majority power punches, but Ezzard just wouldn't go, he had a granite chin and the heart of a warrior. Marciano would later say that Ezzard Charles was the toughest fighter he ever faced.
2010 Ringside Boxing Round One - Gold #/9 - Ezzard Charles.
1992 Victoria Gallery - Boxing Champions - Black Back - Ezzard Charles. I don't know how the hell Victoria Gallery even found this image of Ezzard to use on a card, I had to do some serious digging to find it.
Check this out, the Ezzard Charles bronze statue is located at Ezzard Charles Park (formerly Laurel Park) in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It's one of the coolest statues I've ever seen, the Cobras at the bottom of the statue near his feet are particularly awesome, a nod to his nickname "The Cincinnati Cobra."
1955 All American Sports Club - Ezzard Charles. After much digging, I came darn close to finding the photo to match up with this, but missed it by a hair. Just look at this, it's enough to make you sick.
2011 Ringside Boxing Round Two - Turkey Red - Base - Ezzard Charles.
1951 Albosport Didasco - Ezzard Charles.
I can't find the photo that matches up with this card, but I really love this set and this card, the 1998 Futera Platinum - Boxing Legends - Ezzard Charles.
Can't find the photo to match up with this one either, the 1951 Topps Ringside - Ezzard Charles. This card is tough to find in high grade, absolutely brutal.
This is a mural of Ezzard Charles, designed by artist Jason Snell and created by ArtWorks. The artwork is located at the intersection of Liberty Street and Republic Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. It commemorates Charles as the Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1949 to 1951. The mural was officially unveiled in 2015 as part of ArtWorks' public art program. Cool stuff.
The mural looks really awesome at night when it's lit up.
This is the photo of Ezzard used for the mural.
You know, it just occurred to me, I've been working on this thread for over a year now. Here's a little video to celebrate, you'll want to watch this, I promise you won't regret it.
1999 JF Sporting Collectibles - World Heavyweight Boxing Champions - Ezzard Charles. I love this set.
Check this out, this a photo of Ezzard Charles and his team after it was announced that he had been awarded the decision against Jersey Joe Walcott on June 22, 1949 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, and that he was the new World Heavyweight Champion. His manager Jake Mintz literally fainted and you can see him in the lower right hand corner of the bottom photo being helped.
Wicked photo of Ezzard wearing the World Heavyweight Championship title belt.
Ezzard Charles, beautiful violence. My goodness, watching this highlights video gives me goosebumps. You can certainly see why he was called "The Cincinnati Cobra", he struck with the speed and lethal precision of a snake.
This is one of my favorite images of Ezzard Charles, shadow boxing in a mirror.
One last photo of the great Ezzard Charles before we move on, this is another personal favorite image of "The Cincinnati Cobra."
Want to get these two guys in here, two of my heroes, Jean Moulin and Simon Wiesenthal. Thank you gentlemen.
Marcel Cerdan was an elite, legendary world champion and widely considered the greatest French boxer in history. Nicknamed "Le Bombadier Marocain" or "The Moroccan Bomber," he compiled a stunning career record of 110 wins and only 4 losses, capturing European titles and the undisputed world middleweight title. He went undefeated through his first 110 fights (with his only two early losses coming via controversial disqualifications while winning). He captured the World Middleweight Title on September 21, 1948, by knocking out the legendary Tony Zale in 12 rounds. Cerdan combined ferocious, non-stop punching power with brilliant technical pressure, making him feared in multiple weight divisions. He lost his title to Jake LaMotta in 1949 only because he dislocated his shoulder in the first round, forcing his corner to stop the fight after the ninth round despite fighting heroically with one arm. His life was cut short at age 33 when he died in an October 1949 airplane crash while flying to New York to prepare for a rematch against LaMotta. We'll start off with my favorite Cerdan card, the 1948 Leaf Gum - Marcel Cerdan.
1985 Poulain - Grands Noms Du Sport - Marcel Cerdan. I love this set, they are paper thin stickers issued by the Poulain chocolate company in France, Muhammad Ali has a sticker in this set as well.
1952 Felix Potin - Celebrites Contemporaines - Marcel Cerdan.
1947 Bond Bread - Perforated Dual-Sided - Marcel Cerdan/Joan Crawford. This is a very rare card.
1977-79 Sportscaster - Geneva C - Marcel Cerdan. Boy this card is rare, the Geneva C is almost as tough to find as the Belgian edition.
1940-70 Boxing News Photos - Marcel Cerdan.
1948 Topps Magic Photos - Number on Side - Marcel Cerdan.
1955 Fantomen Comic - Masters of the Ring - Marcel Cerdan.
2002 Rockwell Publishing - The Great Middleweights - Large - Marcel Cerdan. Both the Blue Back and Black back variations are pictured.
1951 Topps Ringside - Marcel Cerdan.
1950 Unknown South American Wrestling and Boxing Set Lucha - Marcel Cerdan.
One of the coolest images I've seen of Marcel Cerdan, they should put this on a card.
Another image of Marcel Cerdan worthy of a card.
1987 Sports et Adventures - Marcel Cerdan. This is a very mysterious card to me, I've seen a few different variations of it, here are two of them, one with a biography on the front and a quiz on the back, the other with a blank front and a biography on the back. The language on both variations is written in French. It's a fascinating issue, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali also have a card in this set.
1968 Mira Tuttosport - Regalo Lottery Back - Marcel Cerdan. I know I've seen the photo that matches up with this but I can't seem to find it anywhere.
The image also appeared on this 1969 Ajman - Champions of Sport - Marcel Cerdan stamp.
1951 Topps Ringside - Tony Zale vs. Marcel Cerdan.
2001 JF Sporting Collectibles - Boxers World Champions - Marcel Cerdan. They actually used Stanley Weston's 1949 artwork for the image of Cerdan on this card. The artwork appeared on the cover of the January 1949 issue of Ring magazine.
1943-48 Parade Sportive Paul Stuart - Marcel Cerdan. This is ridiculously rare.
1952-54 Lasso Samlaralbum - Marcel Cerdan. I have dug to China looking for the photo to match up with this and it's just not going to happen.
1951 Albosport Didasco - Marcello Cerdan.
ACEO Swedish Boxing Game Card - Marcel Cerdan. Love the way they put his nickname on here, "Le Bombadier Marocain" which is French for "The Moroccan Bomber ."
Marcel Cerdan earned the nickname "Le Bombardier Marocain" (The Moroccan Bomber) because of his explosive knockout power in both hands. He knocked out over half of his 114 opponents, 65 to be exact. Watching this highlights video of him, you can see that he was aggressive as hell and when he let his hands go he didn't hold back, he was indeed dropping bombs.
1950 Kiddy's Favourites - Name in Blue - Marcel Cerdan.
A few of my favorite Marcel Cerdan photos.
Marcel signing for some young fans.
Marcel wearing his middleweight title belt.