On this day in 1954, Rocky Marciano and Ezzard Charles met at Yankee Stadium to dispute, for the second time in just three months, the world heavyweight championship. In his excellent first battle, Charles became the only man to last fifteen rounds with the “Brockton Blockbuster,” but Rocky prevailed by unanimous decision. “The Cincinnati Cobra” would fight valiantly in the rematch, but this time it would last only half. The 1954 Ring magazine ‘Fight of the Year’ was a grueling physical eight-round fight that ended after a typically savage attack from the indomitable Marciano.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time and arguably the greatest light heavyweight of all time, Ezzard Charles had a professional record of 83-11-1 when he faced Marciano for the second time. He was not a tall or burly man, but he had become the lineal heavyweight champion with a decision win over Joe Louis in 1950, before losing the crown to Jersey Joe Walcott in 1951. Tough, defensively skilled and wonderfully fluid inside from the ring, the 33-year-old had already proven himself once against The Rock, and was now looking to build on his strong first performance.
Two years younger than his opponent, the 46-0 Marciano was Cobra’s stylistic opposite. Shorter, wilder, with an approach that favored action over caution, Marciano was the living archetype of a slugger with blood and guts. He won the heavyweight championship in 1952 with a devastating knockout of Walcott, and had defended it against Walcott and Roland LaStarza before that magnificent first war with Charles. The rematch was an opportunity for the fighting pride of Brockton, Massachusetts to prove that Cobra’s first performance, which had pushed Rocky to the limit, was an anomaly.
If the action in the first fight was distinctive for its cleanliness (unbelievably, there was only one clinch in the 15 rounds), the rematch between Marciano and Charles involved much more physicality. Charles started aggressively and once the first clinch occurred seconds after the opening bell, he scored with a hard left hook to Marciano’s abdomen. No doubt excited by the tone the challenger was setting, the Italian responded by attacking Charles in the second and knocking him down after landing two huge right hands. Charles got up quickly and the round ended with a fierce exchange.
With the brutal pace and tone of the fight firmly established, Marciano continued his assault, throwing hard with both hands. While the taller, sleeker challenger sometimes responded with a quick hook, Marciano’s lunging tactics made it difficult for Charles to set up his jab. Rocky’s pressure didn’t let up and he continued to fight, forcing both men to fight back and forth with heads only inches apart. This effectively neutralized both Charles’s reach advantage and his sharp defensive skills.
But the former champion had no intention of giving up easily, showing it at the end of the fifth round. Marciano struck after the bell and Cobra, features contorted in anger, bit back and hit Rocky in the face. Perhaps it was this shot that helped open up a gruesome cut on the tip of Marciano’s nose that bled badly in the sixth.
Undeterred, Marciano continued on. His face looked like “a Halloween character with a yellow thing smeared on his nose,” the announcer commented, referring to the ointment applied to the corner of his face. By contemporary standards, the cut, with the opening of Marciano’s left nostril, was serious enough to force a stoppage, but the referee allowed the contest to continue, and the relentless champion, who fought as if totally unconcerned to his injury, he continued with his attack.
In the eighth, his face twisted and bloodied, Rocky made sure Charles didn’t survive to see the final bell. He hit the challenger with alternating lefts and rights, punctuating the attack with a huge overhand right to the head to score another knockdown. Again the challenger got up, but it was a mere formality as Rocky, sensing victory, lunged at the injured fighter, striking wildly. The final blast was vintage from Marciano, so furious that his imprecision was outweighed by the volume and violence of his blows. Kneeling on the canvas, clearly defeated, Charles took the bill.
Marciano vs. Carlos II was won by the boxer whose style best suited the nature of the contest. The talented Charles was anything but faint of heart. Marciano later said, “Ezzard Charles was the toughest man I ever fought. I learned what the pain was about when I fought it.” An intelligent and courteous person, Charles would not be defeated by his will, but by his body, as he succumbed to Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1975 at the age of 53. Equally tragic was the passing of Marciano: aged just 45, he died in a plane crash in 1969. Their dual existences, though brief, were never lacking in vitality, for through their two-fight, 23-round engagement, they each experienced human competence at its highest level. —Eliot McCormick
