The Best I've Seen-Archie Moore (1960)

[Caractacus]

here is a direct quote from Archie Moore's 1960 autobiography THE ARCHIE MOORE STORY.
(PAGE 197)

"Joe Louis is the best heavyweight I've seen in action.
John Henry Lewis was the best light-heavyweight,
but if anyone wants to dispute this and throw my name in I'll listen to the discussion with rapt attention.
The best middleweight was Sugar Ray Robinson.
The best welterweight was Charlie Brady.
Ike Williams is my pick for the best lightweight ;
bantamweight, Harold Dade
and flyweight, Earl Perez."

[Caractacus]

continued.....

"There are four more fighters I would like to mention.
Two of them, Barney Ross and Fritzie Zivic, belong on anybody"s list of greats.
And at the top of my list, the top mind you,
I put Henry Armstrong.
My last favorite is Sandy Saddler.
I rate Sandy as one of the greatest punchers I ever saw"

[goose 5]

Not long before he died, Moore rated Spinks and Ezzard Charles as the 2 best 175 pounders and said he might have to give the edge to Spinks; this interview is on youtube.

[Wee Tommy]

here is a direct quote from Archie Moore's 1960 autobiography THE ARCHIE MOORE STORY.
(PAGE 197)

"Joe Louis is the best heavyweight I've seen in action.
John Henry Lewis was the best light-heavyweight,
but if anyone wants to dispute this and throw my name in I'll listen to the discussion with rapt attention.
The best middleweight was Sugar Ray Robinson.
The best welterweight was Charlie Brady.
Ike Williams is my pick for the best lightweight ;
bantamweight, Harold Dade
and flyweight, Earl Perez."

Who is Charlie Brady?

[Controversial]

here is a direct quote from Archie Moore's 1960 autobiography THE ARCHIE MOORE STORY.
(PAGE 197)

"Joe Louis is the best heavyweight I've seen in action.
John Henry Lewis was the best light-heavyweight,
but if anyone wants to dispute this and throw my name in I'll listen to the discussion with rapt attention.
The best middleweight was Sugar Ray Robinson.
The best welterweight was Charlie Brady.
Ike Williams is my pick for the best lightweight ;
bantamweight, Harold Dade
and flyweight, Earl Perez."

Who is Charlie Brady?

I assume he meant Charley Burley

[Caractacus]

maybe Charlie Brady was the greatest fighter that Nobody ever heard of ? LOL

[Caractacus]

and according to Archie Moore,
The best fighter that he NEVER saw
( but had heard stories and read about)
was-Joe Gans

BTW Kd Chocolate was Archie Moore's idol growing up
listening to his fights on the radio.

[Caractacus]

As far as "Charley Brady" being the best middleweight Archie Moore ever saw.
My guess that error in print in the book
was the result of someone at the publishing company trans-scribing what Archie Moore
had said into a portable tape-recorder while preparing for the book.
Archie Moore saying "Charley Burley into it must have sounded like "Charlie Brady". to someone in NYC.
( you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to have figured that out-Elementary !)
Archie Moore also used a tape-recorder to help write songs that he had written
back in the late `1950's

[goose 5]

Moore was a genius but his choice of Harold Dade shocks me.

[Caractacus]

Archie Moore had actually seen Harold Dade fight tho,
and probably saw him win the Batanweight championship from Ortiz
so he must have saw something in him.
.