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Kill The Body

and the head will die

Elmer Ray vs Ezzard Charles — record, stats and common opponents compared

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Elmer Ray

🇺🇸UNITED STATES

Ezzard Charles

Elmer Ray (98-23-11) and Ezzard Charles (95-25-1) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met 2 times. They share 6 common opponents.

Ray

98

Wins69 KO · 70%

23

Losses

11

Draws135 tracked bouts

Charles

95

Wins52 KO · 55%

25

Losses

1

Draw121 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Series level 1–1

Elmer Ray and Ezzard Charles have met 2 times; Series level 1–1.

Elmer Ray and Ezzard Charles have met 2 times; Series level 1–1.
Met1947Jul 251948May 7Series
Elmer RayFighter AWWonLLost1–1W–L
Ezzard CharlesFighter BLLostWWon1–1W–L
ResultSDKOR92Meetings

The Numbers

Ray 4 · Charles 4 of 8 measurable rows
RayCharles
Record
98-23-1195-25-1 (edge)
Win %0–100%
78.4%
78.9% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 69
69 (edge)
52
KO rate0–100%
70.41% (edge)
54.74%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)†0–100%
70% (edge)
55%
Times stopped†max 9
9
7 (edge)
Title reignsmax 2
0
2 (edge)
Bouts per year‡max 8.8
8.8 (edge)
6.2
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 135
135
121

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held
Elmer Ray: No height on file
Ezzard Charles: 6′0″
Reachnot held
Elmer Ray: No reach on file
Ezzard Charles: 73″
Agenot comparable
Elmer Ray: Died aged 76
Ezzard Charles: Died aged 53
Stance
Elmer Ray: Orthodox
Ezzard Charles: Orthodox

Elmer Ray left, Ezzard Charles right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only
Elmer Ray98 wins · from 135 tracked bouts

Elmer Ray: 98 tracked wins — 69 by KO/TKO (70%), 27 on the cards (28%) and 2 by another method or unrecorded (2%). Counted from 135 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

69 by KO/TKO 70%27 on the cards 28%2 by another method or unrecorded 2%

Ezzard Charles95 wins · from 121 tracked bouts

Ezzard Charles: 95 tracked wins — 52 by KO/TKO (55%) and 43 on the cards (45%). Counted from 121 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

52 by KO/TKO 55%43 on the cards 45%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Elmer Ray 135, Ezzard Charles 121 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

6 shared

6 shared · Ray better on 2 · Charles better on 2 · even on 2

Ray

Opponent

Charles

  • Elmer Ray

    Win, KO 5

    1933

    JohnsonRay better

    Ezzard Charles

    Loss, TKO 6

    1955

  • Elmer Ray

    Loss, KO 8

    1949

    HolmanCharles better

    Ezzard Charles

    1–1 against

    Win, UD

    1955

    Loss, TKO 9

    1955

  • Elmer Ray

    Win, KO 3

    1946

    EscoeEven

    Ezzard Charles

    Win, KO 3

    1955

  • Elmer Ray

    1–2 against

    Loss, MD

    1947

    Win, SD

    1946

    Loss, KO 3

    1937

    WalcottCharles better

    Ezzard Charles

    2–2 against

    Loss, UD

    1952

    Loss, KO 7

    1951

    Win, UD

    1951

    Win, UD

    1949

  • Elmer Ray

    Win, TKO 3

    1948

    SmithEven

    Ezzard Charles

    Win, TKO 4

    1947

  • Elmer Ray

    2–0 against

    Win, TKO 2

    1947

    Win, KO 3

    1946

    ParksRay better

    Ezzard Charles

    Win, TKO 6

    1946

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Elmer Ray has lost two straight, after two straight wins. Ray last boxed on Mar 8, 1949.LWWLL

Charles May 1948Boddie Jan 1949Peaks Feb 1949Riviera Feb 1949Holman Mar 19498.8 tracked bouts per year

Ezzard Charles has lost two straight, after one straight win. Charles last boxed on Sep 1, 1959.LLWLL

Zuany Sep 1958Fleeman Oct 1958Ashley Jul 1959Logan Jul 1959Green Sep 19596.2 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them
Have Elmer Ray and Ezzard Charles ever fought each other?
Yes. Elmer Ray and Ezzard Charles have met 2 times and the series is level at 1-1.
The 2 meetings

LMay 7, 1948 · Charles · KO R9

WJul 25, 1947 · Ray · SD

Head to Head ↓
Who has the better record, Ray or Charles?
Elmer Ray is 98-23-11 and Ezzard Charles is 95-25-1. Ezzard Charles has the higher win percentage.
Records · win %

Ray98–23–1178.4%

Charles95–25–178.9%

The Numbers ↓
Who has more knockouts, Ray or Charles?
Elmer Ray has 69 knockout wins and Ezzard Charles has 52. Elmer Ray has more.
Knockout wins · KO rate

Ray6970.4%

Charles5254.7%

The Numbers ↓
Do Ray and Charles have any common opponents?
Elmer Ray and Ezzard Charles share 6 common opponents: Young Jack Johnson, John Holman and Vern Escoe (and 3 others). Neither fighter fared better across the shared opponents overall.
6 shared opponents

Young Jack JohnsonWL

John HolmanL1–1

Vern EscoeWW

Jersey Joe Walcott1–22–2

and 2 more

Common Opponents ↓
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ray and Charles?
This comparison is drawn from 135 bouts tracked for Elmer Ray and 121 bouts tracked for Ezzard Charles. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.
Bouts tracked · no edge

Ray135bouts

Charles121bouts

How They Win ↓

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