Charley Burley

[Knucklez]

Clips of Charley Burley as an old man towards the end of this clip.

Interesting to see Eddie Futch say that Burley was the best fighter he ever saw.

I believe Archie Moore said the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BOHIxGi ... re=related

[Collins2000]

High praise indeed given the number of great fighters they would have seen over many years.

[granberry]

Another time senile Eddie Futch said Holman Williams was the best fighter he ever saw.

Make up your mind, Eddie.

[Collins2000]

Rosenfeld takes a hard and detailed look at the long career of Burley in a most objective manner. Scanning and compressing hundreds of newspaper and boxing magazine articles, he’s carefully cataloged the welterweight and middleweight boxing scene of the 1930s-40s into a factual scrapbook, sparing the reader of trivial fluff, yet retaining its colorful anecdotes. Reserving his personal opinion as to why Burley was denied a title-shot opportunity, Rosenfeld presents all the factual information for the reader to reach his/her own conclusion.

[TheGreatA]

I think Futch said that he'd rather watch Holman Williams shadowbox than most people fight.

Burley, Williams and also Lloyd Marshall, Jimmy Bivins and the rest of the so-called "Murderer's Row" were all great fighters. Marshall's style may be my favorite, he was never afraid of trading punches even at his own expense at times.

[Collins2000]

Interesting review of this book:

Harry Otty's book does a commendable job of informing the reader about Charley Burley the man and the fighter. Boxing fans will like that the author provides detailed descriptions of the action in Burley's important bouts; a brief background of most of his opponents and mini-biographies of many of his top-flight adversaries (such as fellow forgotten greats Holman Williams, Jack Chase, Eddie Booker, Cocoa Kid, Lloyd Marshall, etc); details of Burley's many hand injuries, and how they often forced him to put his career on hold and how they affected how he fought; background as to how Burley learned many of the techniques and tactics he would employ in the 'squared circle'; many interesting anecdotes about incidents between Burley and other fighters in and out of the ring (such as the time that ranked heavyweight contender Elmer 'Violent' Ray tried to show up Burley during a sparring session and ended up getting coldcocked); interesting tidbits of boxing's seedier side and how boxing politics affected the careers of those who didn't 'play the game'; the cited opinions of many of Burley's great contemporaries and other boxing experts as to his abilities and where he stands among boxing greats; and Burley's professional ring record (which lists who he fought, when they fought, where they fought, how much each of them weighed, and the bout's outcome). Readers who aren't hardcore boxing fans will also enjoy this book because Otty reminds older readers and informs younger ones as to life in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, and illustates what it was like to be a black man in that era.
As for the complaint made by fellow reviewer 'Peter' that "the mystery why Burley didn't get a world title shot is not solved", well, Peter, it was. Harry Otty actually points out several reasons why Burley (who fought from 1936 to 1950 and was in his prime from about 1941 to 1945) never fought for either the welterweight or middleweight title, including the following: two weeks after winning the welterweight title in 1940, Fritzie Zivic and his manager bought Burley's contract so that Zivic wouldn't have to give his two-time conqueror a title shot and, after he lost the championship in 1941, Zivic held onto the contract in order to prevent Burley from coming between him and another title try; after the United States entered World War II, the world titles were 'frozen' so that the boxing champs could contribute to the war effort, so NO ONE was given a welterweight or middleweight title shot from 1942 to 1946; before the 'alphabet' title organizations (like the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, etc, etc) came along (and ruined boxing), there were no such things as 'mandatory title defenses', so champions were free to avoid any contender they chose to ('big fights' simply came about as the result of fan demand i.e. $!); and the fight game and many of its champions were controlled by the mob, and contenders, like Burley, who refused to bow down to these thugs, were denied title shots (for example, Jake LaMotta had to throw a fight with Billy Fox before he received his long overdue try for middleweight laurels). Add to all that the fact that Burley was a great fighter and that several of the post-war champs had been ducking him since before the war, and its not hard to see why he never challenged for a title, which is a pity because Charley Burley was a hell of a fighter.

[Knucklez]

Collins, have you got either of these books?

[Collins2000]

Collins, have you got either of these books?

No. But they both look like a good read, yeah?

[Knucklez]

Collins, have you got either of these books?

No. But they both look like a good read, yeah?

Yeah, will have to purchase one of them.