Charley Burley?
Re: Charley Burley?
Wonder if Ray Robinson ever discussed fighting Burley. Or Graziano or Zale for that matter.
Re: Charley Burley?
Sugar Ray Robinson did fight Rocky Graziano and appeared to have voiced some reluctance to fighting Charley Burley. But I don't recall that Ray talked about facing Tony Zale. Of course, Zale and his brain trust appeared to carefully select Zale's opposition after World War II ended. I can't imagine Zale fighting Jake LaMotta or Ray if he could fight Graziano, who was the most popular non-heavyweight of the time. Moreover, Graziano was not nearly as formidable as LaMotta or Ray.
- Chuck Johnston
Re: Charley Burley?
Chuck is absolutely right. If you follow Burley's career trajectory you can see the claims of fighters "fearing" him simply don't add up. They were fighting guys who actually beat Burley but who also happened to be bigger attractions. Burley's style, while effective, simply didn't translate to a large fan base, even in his hometown of Pittsburgh. His ability was recognized but he wasn't setting the world on fire and at the end of the day its up to a promoter, not a fighter, to make fights. If no promoter can justify a large enough purse to entice a star to fight Burley because Burley cant put asses in the seats then the fight wont happen. Burley's people could throw all of the fake numbers around they want when trying to call people out for publicity but at the end of the day he never showed his ability to draw flies much less paying customers unless he was fighting on a bigger draws undercard. That's a simple fact that escapes the "Burley was denied" crowd. This is also aside from the fact that Burley's best years came during WW2 which gutted boxing not just at the championship level but down the line as well. You could throw a rock and hit a contender who deserved a title shot but didn't get one from 1942-1946 yet some people act like Burley was the only fighter to experience this or that his career took place inside this vacuum.