CINCINNATI — Former heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles is one of the West End’s most beloved sons. This weekend, the honoree 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.
The formal unveiling of the 13-foot-tall bronze statue is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1, at the former Laurel Park on Ezzard Charles Drive in the West End. It starts at 10:15 am
What You Need to Know
The Ezzard Charles statue is set to be unveiled in the West End on Saturday
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 community celebration Ezz Fest
The project coincides with the celebration of Ezz Fest, an annual event held to honor Charles’ life, legacy and contributions.
An artist rendering of a statue of former heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles. The sculpture will be displayed in a park in Cincinnati’s West End, where Charles lived during the prime of his boxing career. (Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Parks)
City leaders, West End residents and project team members plan to attend the ceremony. Charles’ son and daughter, Ezzard Charles II and Deborah Charles, will also be in attendance.
“I think this is tremendous,” said West End resident James Bond Jr., who described Charles as a Cincinnati icon for his accomplishments in and out of the ring.
Charles was a famous professional boxer who was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1949 to 1951. He won 95 fights during his career, including several victories over Hall of Fame fighters in three different weight classes. That includes beating the great Joe Louis in 1950 to earn a decision victory after a 15-round slugfest.
Bond never got to see Ezzard fight Charles, but he remembered hearing stories from his father, James Bond Sr., who considered Charles a “true champion”.
A longtime resident of Cincinnati, Charles was also a businessman, musician and goodwill 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 strikes me is the sense of the story,” Bond added. “I think it would benefit our young people to understand the shoulders they are standing on, so maybe they would have a better appreciation of themselves and the people who came before them.”
Honoring a legend
The Ezzard Charles Project came about as a way of honoring Charles’ life and all that he meant to the West End. It was a collaboration between the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Cincinnati Parks and the generosity of several donors, including support from West End’s Seven Hills neighborhood homes and residents.
“This speaks to the power of people — the heart and passion 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 serves as a great boost and shows what we will see in our future here in the West End.”
The statue depicts Charles shirtless and wearing a pair of medium-length trunks. His gloved hands are both outstretched, with his knees slightly bent in his characteristic orthodox fighting stance.
Creation of the Ezzard Charles sculpture began in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Parks)
Local artist John Hebenstreit, known for the Black Brigade monument in Smale Riverfront Park, began work on the statue in 2017. The project suffered several setbacks over the years, including pandemic-related delays that cause a delay in disclosure.
Cincinnati Parks assembled what it called the Ezzard Charles Committee. The committee, made up 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 pop artist board member of the Cincinnati Parks Foundation and West End resident Andrew VanSickle.
Cincinnati Parks also collected community feedback on the design of the sculpture.
The project included the development of a community plaza in what is now Ezzard Charles Park to house the statue. The new accessible square has benches, orientation signage and free public WiFi. The team also planted more than 100 trees in the park and in the West End community.
The plaza was designed by Singh, who worked for CHAATRIK Architecture and Urban Design. Singh, who has since died, will receive special recognition during Saturday’s ceremony.
“It’s so wonderful to see Ezzard Charles finally get his statue, in his park, in his neighborhood,” Snell said, describing the boxer as a “true community leader and hero.”
Snell’s passion for storytelling goes back several years. He was commissioned by ArtWorks to create the “Cincinnati Cobra” mural on Liberty Street several years ago. He is working to create a digital lighting scheme to animate the BLINK mural next month.
“I’m really looking forward to continuing this celebration of Ezzard Charles and his legacy,” he added. “Ezz for the win.”
Celebrating a historic community
The debut of the statue of the statue serves as the flagship element of the fifth annual Ezz Fest. The event takes place on October 1 each year.
This year’s Ezz Fest also includes formally marking the name change from Laurel Park to Ezzard Charles Park. The move was supported by 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.
Residents attend a community event in the West End neighborhood. (Casey Weldon/Spectrum News 1)
Cincinnati Parks created a web app “Ezz” that empowers joggers, runners and walkers to follow three different routes that Charles would have taken during his days of struggle. It features 12 mid-workout challenges that connect to Charles’ life, from listening to a curated playlist of songs popular during Charles’ lifetime to taking a moment to reflect on some of his favorite spots in the city.
While this weekend’s events aim to honor Charles’ legacy, they will also pay tribute to the history of the West End community.
Bond’s grandparents and parents lived in the West End, and he also grew up in the historically black neighborhood. When Bond was a boy, the West End was a “lively and lively” neighborhood, with many black-owned businesses and positive energy.
But “due to many factors,” things changed over the decades, Bond said. He moved when things “started to deteriorate.”
Vida Manuel, a lifelong resident of the West End, said this weekend offers an opportunity to showcase all the neighborhood has to offer.
“Change doesn’t happen overnight,” the 62-year-old said. “You need a couple of pieces in place to help people start to see the big picture. That’s another piece we’re adding, so hopefully people can start to see it.”
Bond moved to the neighborhood about six years ago. He feels that some of that liveliness has returned. There is still work to be done, but he sees a lot of progress, and Ezz Fest and the surrounding events show that potential.
“Back in the day, everyone was proud to be a West Ender,” he said. “There was a sense of black pride and community pride at one point and now what we’re doing is trying to bring that energy back.”
Additional information is available at Ezz Fest website.
