All of a Sudden

"He's a deceiving guy," complained Fighter Nick Barone. "You think you're doing pretty good chasing him and banging him up on the inside. All of a sudden, you're tired. He hits you some sharp raps. You're on the floor and so fogged up you can't get up." Barone was trying to explain how it happened last week that Heavyweight Champion Ezzard Charles had knocked him down & out for the first time in Nick's career of 53 professional fights.

It was not the first time that lanky

Heavyweight (185 lbs.) Charles has befuddled his opponent. Four times since he took Joe Louis' vacated title 18 months ago by outpointing Jersey Joe Walcott, Charles has taken on and knocked out would-be challengers. Only Joe Louis himself managed to stay in the ring with the champion for a full 15 rounds and that, some thought, may have been because Charles found himself unwilling, in the late rounds, to knock out a man he reveres. But because Charles lacks the shuffling deadliness of Joe Louis in his prime,* a lot of fight fans had labeled him a second-rate champion, the best around, to be sure, but the best of a sorry lot.

Like Nick Barone himself, fight fans were reconsidering Ezzard's virtues last week. They included a poised defense that turned aside with glove or shoulder most of Barone's punches, a flickering left jab which, though it packed no knockout drops, did a thorough job of dulling his opponent's reflexes, and a stout right smash that put Barone away in round eleven. At 29, Ezzard Charles had a polished boxing style that was not Joe Louis', but was still mighty effective in its own way. It might be a long time before the fans saw another Louis; meanwhile, it looked as though it would take more than a second-rater to beat the champion.

*Louis, now half a dozen overweight years past his prime, was warned by Jack Dempsey last week to quit the ring. Said Dempsey: "Louis is a lot farther over the hill than I was when I hung up the gloves in 1927. He ought to quit before he gets hurt and finds a permanent address on Queer Street."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.