CINCINNATI — Former heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles is one of the West End’s most beloved sons. This weekend, the prizefighter known as the Cincinnati Cobra will have his legacy and connection to the neighborhood cemented with the debut of a statue of him in a park that now bears his name.
A formal unveiling of the 13-foot tall bronze statue is set for Saturday, Oct. 1 at the former Laurel Park on Ezzard Charles Drive in the West End. It starts at 10:15 a.m.
What You Need To Know
- An unveiling of the Ezzard Charles statue is set for Saturday in the West End
- Known as the Cincinnati Cobra, Charles was a longtime resident of the West End neighborhood
- Cincinnati Parks voted to rename Laurel Park in his honor
- The ceremony coincides with the annual Ezz Fest community celebration
The project coincides with the celebration of Ezz Fest, an annual event held to honor the life, legacy and contributions of Charles.
City leaders, West End residents and members of the project team plan to attend the ceremony. Charles’ son and daughter, Ezzard Charles II and Deborah Charles, will be on hand as well.
“I think this is tremendous,” said West End resident James Bond Jr., who described Charles as a Cincinnati icon for his accomplishments inside and outside the ring.
Charles was a celebrated professional boxer who was the world heavyweight champ from 1949 to 1951. He won 95 fights during his career, including several wins over Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. That includes out-boxing the great Joe Louis in 1950 to win a decision victory after a 15-round slugfest.
Bond never got to see Ezzard Charles fight, but he recalled hearing stories from his father, James Bond Sr., who considered Charles a "true champion."
A longtime Cincinnati resident, Charles was also an entrepreneur, a musician, and a good-will ambassador to the West End community where he lived at the height of his boxing career.
In 1975, Charles died at the age of 53. He received posthumous induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
“The first thing that jumps out at me is a sense of history," Bond added. “I think it would benefit our young people to understand the shoulders they’re standing on, so maybe they would have a better appreciation of themselves and the people who preceded them.”
Honoring a legend
The Ezzard Charles project came about as a way to honor the life of Charles and all he meant to the West End. It was a collaboration between Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Cincinnati Parks and the generosity of a variety of donors, including support from West End-based Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses and residents.
“This speaks to the power of the people — the heart and passion that our community has to see a project like this come to fruition,” said Alexis Kidd, executive director of Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses. “The statue, the renaming of the park, it all just serves as great momentum and shows what we’re going to see in our future here in the West End.”
The statue depicts Charles shirtless and in a pair of mid-length trunks. His boxing glove-covered hands are both extended, with his knees slightly bent in his signature orthodox fighting stance.
Local artist John Hebenstreit, known for the Black Brigade monument in Smale Riverfront Park, began working on the statue in 2017. The project suffered several setbacks over the years, including pandemic-related delays, leading to the delay of the reveal.
Cincinnati Parks assembled what it called the Ezzard Charles Committee. The committee — consisting of the likes of designer Jason Snell and videographer Kailah Ware, as well as architect Jaipal Singh, writer James Cunningham, and Hebenstreit — supported the concept created by Cincinnati Parks Foundation board member pop-artist and West End resident Andrew VanSickle.
Cincinnati Parks gathered community feedback on the design of the sculpture as well.
The project included development of a community plaza at now-named Ezzard Charles Park to house the statue. The new accessible plaza has benches, way-finding signage and free public WiFi. The team also planted more than 100 trees throughout the park and West End community.
The plaza was designed by Singh, who worked for CHAATRIK Architecture and Urban Design. Singh, who has since passed away, will receive special recognition during Saturday’s ceremony.
“It’s so wonderful to see Ezzard Charles finally get his statue, at his park, in his neighborhood,” said Snell, describing the boxer as a “true community leader and hero.”
Snell’s passion for telling goes back several years. He received a commission from ArtWorks to create the “Cincinnati Cobra” mural on Liberty Street several years ago. He’s working to create a digital lighting scheme to animate the mural for BLINK next month.
”I’m really looking forward to being able to continue this celebration of Ezzard Charles and his legacy,” he added. “Ezz for the win.”
Celebrating a historic community
The statue's debut of the statue serves as the signature element of the fifth annual Ezz Fest. The event takes place on Oct. 1 every year.
This year’s Ezz Fest also includes formally marking the name change of Laurel Park to Ezzard Charles Park. The moved received support from the West End Community Council.
Other activities include a community parade, live music, vendors, face painting, bounce houses, free food from Ollie’s Trolley and boxing-related activities. For the first time, the event includes the Cincinnati Cobra Race. The 5-mile race invites participants to follow Charles’ favorite training route.
Cincinnati Parks created an “Ezz” web app that allows runners, joggers and walkers to follow three different routes that Charles would have taken during his fighting days. It features 12 mid-workout challenges that connectto Charles’ life – from listening to a curated playlist of songs popular during Charles’ life to taking a moment to reflect at some of his favorite spots in the city.
While this weekend's events aim to honor Charles' legacy, they'll also pay homage to the history of the West End community.
Bond’s grandparents and parents lived in the West End, and he grew up in the historically Black neighborhood as well. When Bond was a child, the West End was a “lively and bustling” neighborhood, with many Black-owned businesses and positive energy.
But “because of a lot of factors,” things changed over the decades, Bond said. He moved when things “started to deteriorate."
Vida Manuel, a lifelong West End resident, said this weekend offers an opportunity to show all the neighborhood has to offer.
"Change doesn't happen overnight," the 62-year-old said. "You need a couple pieces in place to help people start to see the big picture. This is another piece we're adding so we hope people can start to see it."
Bond moved back to the neighborhood about six years ago. He feels some of that liveliness has come back. There's still work to do, but he sees a lot of progress — and Ezz Fest and the surrounding events showcase that potential.
“Back in the day, everybody was proud to be a West Ender,” he said. “There was a sense of Black pride and community pride at one time and now what we’re doing is trying to recapture that energy.”
Additional information is available on the Ezz Fest website.