Today we take a trip back to the beginning of the 1950s, where boxing was still developing as a mainstream sport, and athletes were perfecting what we know today as footwork and pugilistic craft. Jersey Joe and Ezzard Charles were juggernauts of their day, and like the 3 kings of the 70s Joe and Ezzard were feared for their brilliance and fearlessness between the ropes.
The Murderer's Row in boxing is a well known group of boxers whom were more feared than any other men of the 50s and 60s eras. Charles and Walcott were a bit too big for the fearsome middleweights, but believe me when I say that nobody wanted to fight either of these men. Jersey Joe moved like a man who weighed 170 pounds and he could dance around the opponent all the while dealing a single, fight ending blow.
These men fought each other 4 times throughout the late 40s and 50s! The first two bouts ended with the durable and lanky Charles taking Unanimous Decisions over 15 rounds in each fight. By the end of both men's careers they had fought each other for nearly 45 rounds and over 2 hours of pure violence. Imagine shedding that much blood with someone in a sport where millions watch and adorn the sacrifice you've made for their entertainment.. somewhere in life they had become blood brothers, and it almost showed in the give and take of their fight series.
Charles winning two of the fights unanimously didn't mean that he didn't get hurt through them, or that the fights weren't close. Jersey Joe was a legend of his day, and between both men's interminglings with the Dempseys and Joe Louis type fighters of that era, they'd always have a spot in the top 5 rankings and in the spotlight.
Jersey Joe got his redemption that fated night of July 18th, 1951, and today in boxing history, he landed the uppercut heard round the world.
Many fighters of today utilize the step in lead uppercut; when using the forward hand to attack instead of defend, one's footwork must be perfectly deceptive in how the punch is angled, and exactly when to pop it out.
Ezzard's entire head snapped back, and even through his wars with Dempsey, Louis and even Marciano... I'd never seen him hurt or hit like that. It was a perfect punch, and Jersey Joe in many ways was a perfect boxer.
Ezzard himself is a legend in the attrition and all around brilliant fundamentals he possessed. From clinch work to foot work, watching these men can teach a lot of modern day fighters how to truly box. These were thinking men as well as warriors, nothing brutish about this era of boxing.
An agile big man with heart for days, and Joe showed you don't need the biggest punch or the best conditioning.. you just need the mind and heart to fight through whatever comes next.
As a modern day legend says, 'speed beats power, and timing beats speed'.
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