For that rare boxing fan with an eye for fistic delicacies, the name Ezzard Charles suggests one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport. But for the general boxing public, especially those weaned on the exploits of Joe Louis, the name of Ezzard Charles initiates a banquet of the malicious. To traditionalists, of whom there are many, daring to succeed to the mantle of the great Joe Louis was irreverent. But, even worse, to actually beat the great Joe Louis in combat bordered on blasphemy. It was almost as if the boxing crowd suddenly realized that what they had in front of them was not the dish they had ordered. And so, Charles, instead of being hailed as the heavyweight champion of the world, became known merely as the man who beat Joe Louis, destined forever to become an antihero to one of the most popular names in all of sports.
   This was patently unfair to Charles, one of the great boxers of all time, heavyweight or otherwise-and one of its most underrated as well. Not because, following in Louis' rather large footsteps, it was inevitable that he had to suffer in comparison to the man who had served as an idol to all for the previous twelve years. But because boxing fans, confused by the entrance of a new player-as they always are-failed to recognize the genius in this warm, sensitive man.
   For even before Ezzard Charles entered the heavyweight ranks, he had carried a flame of achievement, first as a middleweight and then as a light heavyweight. Some, including that venerable boxing voice, Ray Arcel, hold that Charles was one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time.