Charley Burley

Charley Burley (September 6, 1917 – October 16, 1992) was an American boxer who fought as a welterweight and middleweight from 1936 to 1950. Archie Moore, the light-heavyweight champion who was defeated by Burley in a 1944 middleweight bout, was one of several fighters who called Burley the greatest fighter ever.<ref name="cyberzone">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Burley was the penultimate holder of both the World Colored Welterweight Championship and the World Colored Middleweight Championship.

Early life

He was born Charles Duane Burley in Bessemer, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1917 to a mixed-race couple: his father was a black coal miner and his mother a white Irish immigrant from County Cork.<ref name="cyberzone"/> Raised in Bessemer, the only son of seven children, the family moved to Pittsburgh when his father was killed in an industrial accident in 1925.

He began boxing at the age of 12 at a Boys Club and, as a lightweight, won city, state and national junior boxing titles and a Golden Gloves junior title.<ref name="boxrec">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a welterweight, he won a Golden Gloves Senior and lost the 1936 National Senior Championship finals.<ref name="boxrec" /> That same year, he refused an invitation to participate in the Olympic trials due to his objection to the Nazi regime.<ref name="boxrec" /> He did accept an invitation to attend a scheduled 'Workers Games' to be held in Republican Spain as a protest to the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, but the games were cancelled by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

Burley had also excelled at baseball. He reportedly was offered a contract by the Homestead Grays, the local Negro leagues franchise.

Pro boxing career

The 5'9 ½ Burley fought at weights between 145 and 162 lbs. He made his pro debut on September 29, 1936, fighting as a welterweight at 150¾ lbs., at Pittsburgh's Moose Temple. He knocked out George Liggins in the fourth round of a four-round bout.<ref name="box">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Less than two years later, on August 22, 1938, Burley met the Cocoa Kid at Hickey Park in Millvale, Pennsylvania for the World Colored Welterweight Championship. He won a unanimous decision in the 15-round bout, knocking the Kid to the canvas three times and defeating him decisively, taking his title.<ref name="box" /><ref name="boxrec" />

Burley did not defend that title, possibly as part of a strategy to win a shot at Henry Armstrong's World Welterweight title. He won the World Colored Middleweight Title in a ninth round technical knockout against Holman Williams at Victory Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on 14 August 1942.<ref name="box" /> In their rematch for the title two months later at the same venue, Williams won a 15-round decision.<ref name="box" /> Jack Kincaid of the Times-Picayune reported that Burley had won nine rounds of the fight and had been the aggressor throughout.

Burley was never granted a world title shot by any of the world welterweight and world middleweight champions of his era and was avoided by many of the top white contenders. Among the fighters who "ducked" Burley were Hall of Famers Billy Conn (who twice fought Joe Louis for the heavyweight title), Frenchman Marcel Cerdan (who was supposed to face Burley in his American debut) and even Sugar Ray Robinson,<ref name="boxrec" /> considered by many boxing historians as the best pound-for-pound fighter of all time.

Of course, not everyone ducked the slick Pittsburgh warrior. Burley won two out of three matches against future welterweight champion Fritzie Zivic,<ref name="box" /> defeated the great Archie Moore by decision,<ref name="box" /> and easily defeated future NYSAC middleweight king Billy Soose.<ref name="box" /> Burley also faced future heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles, but dropped two 10-round decisions to him (the bouts were contested within a five-week period, sandwiching a fight against Williams).<ref name="box" /> Another notable Burley fight was the one against heavyweight J.D. Turner, who outweighed him by around 70 lbs. "Turner, face beaten to raw beefsteak in six rounds, failed to answer the bell for the seventh." (The Ring, June 1942).

Burley himself was never stopped in 98 bouts.<ref name="box" /><ref name="boxrec" /> He compiled a record of 83 wins (50 by knockout) against 12 losses and two draws with 1 "no contest".<ref name="box" /><ref name="boxrec" /> He also battled financial problems at times during his career (which is why he's thought to have lost some of the fights he did) and was forced to work as an aircraft mechanic and garbage man in order to earn enough money to live off.

Legacy

Burley's second fight with Oakland Billy Smith in 1946 is the only known boxing film for him that is known to exist. It shows a conservative counter-puncher taming a much larger opponent with relative ease.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> During the fight Burley showed remarkable defense using the crab style while slipping and using the shoulder roll to avoid punches.<ref name="shoulder roll">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Burley is also seen throwing a spear jab to split Smith's guard during the fight.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Burley's former sparring partner A.J. "Blackie" Nelson offers this comparison: "I see a lot of Charley in this kid, Roy Jones Jr. Both had unorthodox styles, could hit you from any angle, both hard to hit. Charley jabbed more than Jones, if Jones would concentrate on boxing as Charley did, he would become an all-time great."

Eddie Futch, the great trainer, called Burley "the finest all-around fighter I ever saw."

Burley was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1983 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Burley was ranked 39th on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.

An exhibit at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at Pittsburgh's Senator Heinz History Center states that Burley was the model for the character Troy in August Wilson's play Fences.

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
98	Template:Yes2Win	Template:Nowrap	Pilar Bastidas	PTS	10	Jul 22, 1950	Template:Small
97	Template:Yes2Win	82–12–2 Template:Small	Buddy Hodnett	KO	6 (8)	Mar 2, 1950	Template:Small
96	Template:Yes2Win	81–12–2 Template:Small	Chuck Higgins	KO	1 (8)	Feb 2, 1950	Template:Small
95	Template:Yes2Win	80–12–2 Template:Small	Willie Wright	PTS	8	Jul 25, 1949	Template:Small
94	Template:No2Loss	79–12–2 Template:Small	Charley Doc Williams	PTS	10	Apr 3, 1949	Template:Small
93	Template:Yes2Win	79–11–2 Template:Small	Lonnie Craft	KO	3 (6)	Mar 24, 1948	Template:Small
92	Template:Yes2Win	78–11–2 Template:Small	Larry Cartwright	TKO	8 (10)	Aug 8, 1947	Template:Small
91	Template:No2Loss	77–11–2 Template:Small	Bert Lytell	UD	10	Feb 17, 1947	Template:Small
90	Template:Yes2Win	77–10–2 Template:Small	Bert Lytell	UD	10	Aug 5, 1946	Template:Small
89	Template:Yes2Win	76–10–2 Template:Small	Charley Banks	PTS	10	Jul 16, 1946	Template:Small
88	Template:Yes2Win	75–10–2 Template:Small	Oakland Billy Smith	PTS	10	Apr 24, 1946	Template:Small
87	Template:Yes2Win	74–10–2 Template:Small	Paulie Peters	TKO	2 (10)	Apr 8, 1946	Template:Small
86	Template:Yes2Win	73–10–2 Template:Small	Charley Dodson	TKO	3 (10)	Mar 14, 1946	Template:Small
85	Template:Yes2Win	72–10–2 Template:Small	Oakland Billy Smith	PTS	10	Oct 8, 1945	Template:Small
84	Template:Yes2Win	71–10–2 Template:Small	Speedy Duvall	KO	4 (10)	Sep 28, 1945	Template:Small
83	Template:Yes2Win	70–10–2 Template:Small	Dave Clark	KO	1 (10)	Sep 4, 1945	Template:Small
82	Template:Yes2Win	69–10–2 Template:Small	Aaron Wade	UD	10	Aug 20, 1945	Template:Small
81	Template:Yes2Win	68–10–2 Template:Small	Oscar Boyd	KO	2 (8)	Jul 26, 1945	Template:Small
80	Template:No2Loss	67–10–2 Template:Small	Holman Williams	UD	12	Jul 11, 1945	Template:Small
79	Template:Yes2Win	67–9–2 Template:Small	Joe Carter	UD	10	Mar 12, 1945	Template:Small
78	Template:Yes2Win	66–9–2 Template:Small	Jack Chase	TKO	12 (15)	Sep 11, 1944	Template:Small	Template:Small
77	Template:Yes2Win	65–9–2 Template:Small	Young Gene Buffalo	TKO	5 (10)	Aug 28, 1944	Template:Small
76	Template:Yes2Win	64–9–2 Template:Small	Frankie Nelson	TKO	7 (10)	Jun 23, 1944	Template:Small
75	Template:Yes2Win	63–9–2 Template:Small	Al Gilbert	TKO	4 (10)	May 12, 1944	Template:Small
74	Template:Yes2Win	62–9–2 Template:Small	Archie Moore	PTS	10	Apr 21, 1944	Template:Small
73	Template:Yes2Win	61–9–2 Template:Small	Jack Chase	KO	9 (15)	Apr 6, 1944	Template:Small	Template:Small
72	Template:Yes2Win	60–9–2 Template:Small	Aaron Wade	PTS	10	Mar 24, 1944	Template:Small
71	Template:Yes2Win	59–9–2 Template:Small	Bobby Berger	KO	5 (10)	Mar 3, 1944	Template:Small
70	Template:Yes2Win	58–9–2 Template:Small	Bobby Birch	PTS	10	Jun 26, 1943	Template:Small
69	Template:Abbr	57–9–2 Template:Small	Holman Williams	NC	10 (10)	May 14, 1943	Template:Small	Template:Small
68	Template:DrawDraw	57–9–2	Herbert Lewis Hardwick	PTS	10	Apr 19, 1943	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2Win	57–9–1	Aaron Wade	PTS	10	Mar 3, 1943	Template:Small
66	Template:Yes2Win	56–9–1	Jack Chase	UD	10	Feb 19, 1943	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	55–9–1	Harvey Massey	TKO	9 (10)	Feb 3, 1943	Template:Small
64	Template:No2Loss	54–9–1	Lloyd Marshall	SD	10	Dec 11, 1942	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	54–8–1	Cecilio Lozada	TKO	2 (10)	Nov 13, 1942	Template:Small
62	Template:No2Loss	53–8–1	Holman Williams	UD	15	Oct 16, 1942	Template:Small	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	53–7–1	Holman Williams	TKO	9 (15)	Aug 14, 1942	Template:Small	Template:Small
60	Template:No2Loss	52–7–1	Ezzard Charles	UD	10	Jun 29, 1942	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	52–6–1	Holman Williams	PTS	10	Jun 23, 1942	Template:Small
58	Template:No2Loss	51–6–1	Ezzard Charles	UD	10	May 25, 1942	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	51–5–1	George Wilson	KO	2 (10)	Apr 30, 1942	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	50–5–1	Joe Sutka	KO	4 (8)	Apr 24, 1942	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	49–5–1	Phil McQuillan	KO	1 (8)	Apr 20, 1942	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	48–5–1	Cleo McNeal	KO	5 (10)	Apr 9, 1942	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	47–5–1	Jay D Turner	TKO	7 (10)	Mar 13, 1942	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	46–5–1	Holman Williams	UD	10	Feb 26, 1942	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	45–5–1	Shorty Hogue	RTD	6 (10)	Feb 13, 1942	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	44–5–1	Milo Theodorescu	TKO	4 (10)	Feb 6, 1942	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	43–5–1	Jackie Burke	TKO	5 (10)	Jan 23, 1942	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	42–5–1	Shorty Hogue	TKO	10 (10)	Jan 9, 1942	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	41–5–1	Jerry Hayes	KO	4 (10)	Dec 23, 1941	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	40–5–1	Ted Morrison	TKO	2 (8)	Dec 12, 1941	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	39–5–1	Antonio Fernandez	PTS	10	Sep 25, 1941	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	38–5–1	Otto Blackwell	PTS	8	Aug 25, 1941	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	37–5–1	Young Gene Buffalo	TKO	5 (10)	Jul 14, 1941	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	36–5–1	Ossie Harris	TKO	9 (10)	Jun 2, 1941	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	35–5–1	Eddie Ellis	TKO	5 (8)	Apr 18, 1941	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	34–5–1	Babe Synnott	TKO	5 (8)	Mar 31, 1941	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	33–5–1	Vince Pimpinella	PTS	10	Nov 11, 1940	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	32–5–1	Ernest Peirce	PTS	10	Oct 17, 1940	Template:Small
37	Template:No2Loss	31–5–1	Jimmy Bivins	UD	10	Sep 3, 1940	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	31–4–1	Kenny LaSalle	UD	10	Aug 19, 1940	Template:Small
35	Template:DrawDraw	30–4–1	Georgie Abrams	PTS	10	Jul 29, 1940	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	30–4	Carl Dell	PTS	10	Jun 17, 1940	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	29–4	Sam Edwards	KO	2 (10)	Apr 26, 1940	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	28–4	Baby Kid Chocolate	TKO	5 (10)	Apr 12, 1940	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	27–4	Nate Bolden	PTS	10	Feb 12, 1940	Template:Small
30	Template:No2Loss	26–4	Holman Williams	PTS	15	Dec 1, 1939	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	26–3	Mickey Makar	KO	1 (10)	Oct 23, 1939	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	25–3	Jimmy Leto	PTS	10	Aug 28, 1939	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	24–3	Fritzie Zivic	UD	10	Jul 17, 1939	Template:Small
26	Template:No2Loss	23–3	Jimmy Leto	SD	10	Jun 20, 1939	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	23–2	Sonny Jones	TKO	7 (12)	Jan 10, 1939	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	22–2	Billy Soose	UD	10	Nov 21, 1938	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	21–2	Werther Arcelli	KO	1 (10)	Nov 3, 1938	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	20–2	Herbert Lewis Hardwick	UD	15	Aug 22, 1938	Template:Small	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	19–2	Leon Zorrita	UD	10	Aug 2, 1938	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	18–2	Fritzie Zivic	UD	10	Jun 13, 1938	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	17–2	Mike Barto	TKO	4 (10)	Jun 1, 1938	Template:Small
18	Template:No2Loss	16–2	Fritzie Zivic	SD	10	Mar 21, 1938	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	16–1	Art Tate	KO	2 (6)	Mar 3, 1938	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	15–1	Carl Turner	UD	4	Feb 10, 1938	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	14–1	Johnny Folio	PTS	4	Feb 3, 1938	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	13–1	Tiger Jackson	KO	2 (4)	Jan 27, 1938	Template:Small
13	Template:No2Loss	12–1	Eddie Dolan	UD	8	Sep 9, 1937	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	12–0	Sammy Grippe	TKO	6 (8)	Aug 16, 1937	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Remo Fernandez	TKO	7 (8)	Aug 9, 1937	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Mickey O'Brien	PTS	10	Jun 24, 1937	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Keith Goodballet	TKO	2 (8)	May 27, 1937	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Sammy Grippe	PTS	6	May 3, 1937	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Ray Gray	PTS	6	Apr 19, 1937	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Johnny Folio	TKO	5 (8)	Apr 15, 1937	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Ray Collins	TKO	5 (8)	Feb 8, 1937	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Ralph Gizzy	KO	2 (8)	Jan 22, 1937	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Eddie Wirko	TKO	5 (6)	Nov 9, 1936	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Ralph Gizzy	PTS	6	Oct 22, 1936	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	George Liggins	KO	4 (4)	Sep 29, 1936	Template:Small

See also

• List of bare-knuckle boxers
• Murderers' Row (Boxing)

External links

• Template:Boxrec