On this day: Ezzard Charles, legendary light-heavyweight, dies of ALS

Ezzard Charles, 'The Cincinnati Cobra,' died on this day, May 28, 1975. Charles was once cited as the greatest light heavyweight boxer of all time by The Ring Magazine.

Though Charles is considered one of the best light heavyweights to ever set foot in the ring, he reigned as a world heavyweight champion from 1949-51.

Charles won the vacant National Boxing Association (now the WBA) Heavyweight Title in 1949 by defeating the legendary Jersey Joe Walcott. In 1950, he beat Joe Louis to claim The New York State Athletic Commission and The Ring heavyweight titles.

Charles successfully defended his titles eight times before losing them to Walcott in a trilogy fight in 1951. He challenged Walcott again in 1952 but lost via unanimous decision. Charles also unsuccessfully challenged Rocky Marciano for the heavyweight title in two back-to-back fights in 1954.

'The Cincinnati Cobra' was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 1968. Charles struggled for a long time with the disease that paralyzes most of the body and eventually passed away in Chicago on May 28, 1975.

Ezzard Charles shared the ring with some of the greatest fighters in history. His record includes victories over Joe Louis, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Charley Burley. He retired in 1959 with a record of 95-25-1.

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Ezzard Charles at light heavyweight

Ezzard Charles turned professional in 1940, beginning his career as a middleweight. He had 33 fights by the end of 1942, including two wins over both Charley Burley and Joey Maxim. His record at the time was 30-2-1.

Due to the Second World War, Ezzard Charles had only four fights between 1943 and 1944. When he returned from the army, he competed as a light heavyweight. In 1946, Charles fought ten times, beating Archie Moore, Oakland Billy Smith, and Jimmy Bivins among others. The following year, he fought 12 times which included rematches with Moore, Smith, and Bivins.

From 1944 to 1951, Charles had lost only one fight; the bout with Elmer Ray at Madison Square Garden in 1947. Ray won by split decision, though The Ring reported that Charles "won handily. . . Ray was the aggressor most of the way, but Charles was the faster, the better boxer, and the sharper hitter." In a 1948 rematch, Charles knocked Ray out in the ninth round.

Despite beating light heavyweight champions such as Maxim and Moore, Ezzard Charles was unable to find his way to a title shot at light heavyweight and decided to move up to heavyweight in 1949. Though he fought above his natural weight, he had his greatest career success in this weight class, where he won multiple world titles.