HBO executives heard of his desire to call one more fight before he died. As documented on the June 19, 2011 edition of CNN's Sanjay Gupta MD he was in the final stages of the disease. He had been recording video messages for his family and friends to show after his death. His close friendship with Mike Tyson was also documented. Personal life Charles was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother was of Sicilian heritage, and his father of Spartan Greek. His widow Cory, is a senior director for CNN International's Guest Planning Unit. Mr. Charles had two previous marriages which ended in divorce. Charles had four children: two children from his first marriage; an adopted daughter from his second; and one child during his final marriage. He married Cory in 1997, an international journalist with CNN since 1990 where she has reported, anchored, and is known mostly for her work planning guests for CNN International. She is a cum laude graduate of Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, which she attended on a four-year NCAA softball scholarship. Mrs. Charles has a master's degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has attended UCLA. His wife, like Nick, came from the inner city, and has a passion for travel. The couple was known to have visited some 60 countries around the globe. Nick Charles also had three grandchildren. His son Jason is an entrepreneur, and owns an audio-visual production company in Tempe, Arizona. His daughter, Katie, ran track and field for Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Katie recently ran in the Boston Marathon. He spoke openly to CNN's Sanjay Gupta and other reporters about his failures in life, and about how he finally got it right in his last marriage. The video diaries he recorded were for his youngest daughter. Cancer In 2009, Charles was diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer, as documented on the June 19, 2011 edition of CNN's Sanjay Gupta MD. He had been recording video messages for his family and friends to show after his death. CNN reported his death on Saturday, June 25, 2011, five days shy of his 65th birthday. Prior to that, he set up a charity to help children in the Philippines with World Vision. References External links Lessons Of The Fight Game Nick Charles' final fight Nick Charles Reflects On His Life, Career Facing death, former CNN sports