Charley Burley
The uncrowned welterweight and middleweight champion of the world
“Too good for his own good”
Charley Burley fought during one of the toughest eras in boxing history. Campaigning from 1936 to 1950, he was openly avoided by many of the top fighters of the day. Unfortunately, his peak years also coincided with WWII, when most of the world titles were frozen, and with the height of the mob’s invovlement with the sport.
While Charley Burley was a talented and tough competitor, He was not big box-office. He did not have the personality of a Sugar Ray Robinson or a Billy Conn – nor did he have the New York connections often required to advance one’s career in the fight game. What he did have was integrity and a real sense of who he was and what he was worth and this made him easy to avoid.
” Charley Burley is a legend in boxing, but people don’t know who he is because he never got the credit”
EDDIE FUTCH
“Charley Burley – pound-for-pound the greatest fighter I ever faced. Charley gave me a licking and sent me back to school. I learned more in our fight than in any other.
That man was fantastic; he could lean away from a punch, be clear off balance and knock your brains out with a counter.”
ARCHIE MOORE
“Anyone who would pursue a fight with Burley would have to be crazy. He was a tremendously dangerous fighter . . . I have to admit I have my doubts that I could have licked him in my prime years.“
SUGAR RAY ROBINSON
“I have always believed that Charley Burley was the best middlewight I ever saw. The guy was a master. He could floor a vaunted opponent early on, and then seem to carry him the rest of the distance for whatever reason.”
HAP NAVARRO