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SCENARIO: After winning the middleweight title with a surprise 7th-round kayo over Charley Burley, Archie Moore looked to cash in on his new fame without placing his title immediately at risk. Already struggling to make the middleweight limit, Archie looked for a bout with a light heavyweight he could have a chance to beat, would gain considerable credit for beating and yet not be disgraced should be be defeated himself. The natural choice was Ezzard Charles, who just recently decided he had outgrown the middleweight division, where he had been a top-rated contender, and who had just recently defeated tough Joey Maxim to rank just below Jimmy Bivins and Anton Christoforidis as the number three challenger to Gus Lesnevich’s world title. The two men met in at the Gardens in Cincinnati on November 30.
FOR TBCB GAME PURPOSES: Both Moore and Charles are rated as pre-prime light heavyweights for this match.
THE FIGHT:
Moore outpunches Charles in the first round, landing several hard blows. Charles comes back and outfights Moore at close range in the second, opening a cut over Moore's left eye. In the third, it's Moore who comes roaring back, rocking Charles with a left hook, then flooring him later in the round with a hard body punch. Charles gets up at the count of 7 and backpedals the rest of the round. Charles again outfights Moore inside in the fourth, and while the cut overe Moore's left eye appears to have closed, the middleweight champion is obviously concerned about it.
Moore keeps trying to move in on Charles in the fifth, but Charles stays at long range and rocks Archie with good combinations. Both men seem to be taking a breather in the sixth, boxing tamely. They pick up the pace again in the seventh, with Archie outpunching Ezzard at close range but is warned by the referee for using his elbows. Near the end of the round, a hard left uppercut by Moore sends Charles staggering backward. At the bell, Charles has a gash under his right eye, which is also beginning to swell shut.
Apparently concerned that the referee might consider stopping the fight, Charles comes out like a tiger for the eighth round. A terrific right uppercut to the jaw stops Archie cold, then several seconds later a hard jab followed by another sharp uppercut snaps Moore's head back. Moore, however, manages to hold on and finishes the round still on his feet. Both men are trading hard blows in the ninth and the referee penalizes Moore a point for holding and hitting. Charles continues to land effectively until finally a stiff left drops Moore for a 4-count. Charles tries to finish him, but Moore is too clever and survives the round.
In the tenth and final round, Charles is trying to protect his right eye which is now nearly closed, with the cut beneath it bleeding badly. Moore senses the opportunity to put his opponent away and wades in with both hands. A hard combination of blows to the head and body send Charles reeling to the canvas. Charles lurches to his feet at the count of 8. Moore at first is suspicious that Charles is playing possum and doesn't rush in. When he does start punching again, Charles evades his blows and ties him up. At the end of the round and the fight, Charles is bloodied but unbowed.
There are tense moments awaiting the decision. Using the 5-point must system, Referee Johnny Jones scored the fight 44-43 for Charles, Referee Robert Smith scored it 44-42 for Moore and Referee Lee Adams scored it 43-43 a draw. The official decision, therefore, was a draw.
THE AFTERMATH: Moore wasted no time in declaring that he had proven once and for all his ability to compete as a light heavyweight as well as a middleweight. He stressed the fact that Charles on the verge of being knocked out when the fight ended, and that only the “unwarranted” one-point penalty for elbowing in the ninth round cost him the decision. Charles, more soft spoken, said little after the bout, but proceeded to lose his next two fights—to Jimmy Bivins and Lloyd Marshall—before being inducted into the Army in 1943.
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