Ricky Mulvey’s Podcast: “Total Fighter” about Cincinnati’s Ezzard Charles
This podcast shines a new light on the underrated Cincinnati Cobra; the greatest light-heavyweight of all time.
Part 3 of Ricky Mulvey’s 5 part podcast series on Ezzard Charles, “Total Fighter” is up now.
In the third episode, Ezzard Charles tries to move on from his tragic meeting with Sam Baroudi and the mafia tightens its grip over his boxing career. A match against Joe Louis becomes more possible after the biggest fight in Cincinnati’s history.
The Man in Front of Me (Part 3)
Total Fighter features interviews with Buddy LaRosa, founder of LaRosa’s Pizza, William Dettloff, author of “Ezzard Charles: A Boxing Life,” and Ezzard Charles II.
Episode 2: “Cobra Strike” covers Ezzard’s tragic and career-defining boxing match, his experience in World War II, and his manager who was “allegedly” connected to the New York Mafia.
Play Episode 2
Featuring interviews with P Man Jones, Ezzard Charles II, William Dettloff, author of “Ezzard Charles: A Boxing Life,” and Buddy LaRosa, founder of LaRosa’s Pizza.
This podcast shines a new light on the underrated Cincinnati Cobra; the greatest light-heavyweight of all time.
The series will ultimately follow Charles to his match against Joe Louis, and the characters who followed him– his family and the mafia.
The premier episode, “More Than a Gym Fighter” is a deep-dive into a very different Cincinnati. Go to a bustling Findlay Market in the 1940s, in between the pool tables and cigar smoke at the American Legion Hall in Newport, Kentucky for Charles’ first boxing match, and a Battle Royale in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Play Episode 1
“Total Fighter” features interviews and stories from Buddy LaRosa, founder of LaRosa’s Pizza, William Dettloff, author of “Ezzard Charles: a Boxing Life,” Frank Wettencamp, one of Ezz’s high school classmates, and more.
This show explores his complex character; why the name “Ezzard Charles” became an insult by Frank Sinatra and an inspiration to the composer George Russell.
