Fun fact on Robinson/Burley

[SlySlickSmooth]

According to the book I'm reading Burley at one point was talked to about having a three fight deal with Robinson. Granted that he took a dive in the first bout.

Robinson didn't comment on the statement.

A man behind the scenes would be gangster Frankie Carbo, some officials suspect him of orchestrating the murder of fellow gangster Bugsy Siegel. So I guess he was like Al Haymon, but a lot worse. Carbo was the equivalent of Haymon, slipping promoters gifts and talking about future fighter's purses.. all behind the scenes.

"Frankie Carbo, the mob's unofficial commissioner for boxing, controlled a lot of the welters and middles" -From a 2002 interview with film producer Budd Schulberg

Thought it was a cool little fact to a fight some might say the uncrowned best fighter vs the historically best fighter ever

[GrandpaBernard]

did it mention if Burley was willing to take the dive or not

[SlySlickSmooth]

did it mention if Burley was willing to take the dive or not

It says Burley was quite the opposite. Burley would walk away from any deal that had to do with dives, fakes, and fights being thrown.

[Galileo]

Charlie Burley was a myth, undeserving of fighting the great Sugar Ray Robinson. Burley has only came to prominence in the last 20yrs since trainer Eddie Futch claimed him to be a great fighter. Over the last few years i have read every fighter who ever laced on gloves was afraid to fight him, all made up crap from some book a relative of Burley's has wrote. Mike Casey a boxing historian, has some very good articles in circulation on the web, telling how Burley was nothing to write home about. There is video footage available of Burley and it's laughable to claim Robinson was afraid to fight him.

[billeau2]

Charlie Burley was a myth, undeserving of fighting the great Sugar Ray Robinson. Burley has only came to prominence in the last 20yrs since trainer Eddie Futch claimed him to be a great fighter. Over the last few years i have read every fighter who ever laced on gloves was afraid to fight him, all made up crap from some book a relative of Burley's has wrote. Mike Casey a boxing historian, has some very good articles in circulation on the web, telling how Burley was nothing to write home about. There is video footage available of Burley and it's laughable to claim Robinson was afraid to fight him.

Source? from the tapes of Butley I have seen he looked pretty damn good to me...and Archie Moore had an opinion based on fighting the man....and it was shall we say....complimentary?

[Galileo]

It has now got to the stage of "Head-Scratching" when reading some of the comments made about Charley Burley. One only has to go on-line and click onto any boxing forum. There will be young boxing fans claiming, this, that and the other that Burley did. and how every fighter who ever lived would have been destroyed by him. ~Or that they was terrified of "man-killer Burley". I have read over 1000 books on Boxing, read several thousand magazines on the sport of boxing from 1900-2000. i had never heard of Charley Burley 20yrs ago. i had never ever read the name Charley Burley, in any of the books or magazines i had read. I have asked old friends of mine who are in their late 60s and 70s, who have never owned a computer, yet have followed boxing all their lives. What is their opinions of the great Charley Burley? They always answer me. Who? One of my friends often talks about seeing Ray Robinson fight, from ringside as an 18yr old in 1962 losing to Terry Downes in London. Yet never heard of Charley Burley. He like myself being an ardent follower of the sport, all his life. It is now almost "Carved in Stone" on internet boxing forums, that Burley is the greatest most avoided fighter who ever lived. I scratch-my-head thinking how one book of fiction, has changed boxing history forever.

[Galileo]

Other than the two books written on Burley since 2000, i cannot recall ever reading about him in any other Boxing books i have read. Any small captions like the one above, i feel have been blown out of all proportion. I can recall in the Ring Magazine of the early 1980s Clint Jackson calling out Roberto Duran, claiming Duran to be afraid of him. Today in the news i read, Amir Khan claiming, "Mayweather is running scared". In 65yrs time will the young be claiming Amir Khan to be the greatest of all times, because Floy Mayweather was afraid to fight him? Magazines, newspapers and other publications are all claiming Mayweather is afraid of Khan. it's ridiculous, just like it's ridiculous to read Ray Robinson was afraid of Charley who? Burley.

[Galileo]

i am certainly not rubbishing Burley. i am querying how/why he went as you put it, "Under the Radar" from All boxing fans and historians, for 65yrs. i am also querying, why is it that on the evidence available (video footage & book written by relative) he is elevated from obscurity to world beater?

The caption from Ring Magazine you posted up, seems to be from a reader not a boxing correspondent?

I am not arguing for or against Charley Burley. i am querying how he was lost from boxing fans and should we believe the recent book written about him. personally i find the book contradictory, given to argument and contention.

[Galileo]

An example of why i find the book so contradictory. Here is a excerpt from that book.
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"Burley eventually left Carney and new promoter Tommy O***8217; Loughlin attempted to gain Burley a championship bout. After coming to California, Burley beat almost everyone in front of him including heavyweight J.D. Turner as well as Holman Williams. (The exception being Ezzard Charles.) Burley***8217;s people challenged current champions but the pleas were ignored. While searching for a title shot, the 150 pound Burley fought heavyweights Ezzard Charles, and other heavier fighters including Lloyd Marshal and the Hogue brothers. J.D. Turner outweighed Burley by 70 pounds but was busted up within six rounds by the lighter fighter."
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Heavyweight J.D.Turner... Turner cannot be compared to anyone within my memory, because his record is so poor.

Heavyweights Ezzard Charles... The author has clearly set out to deceive the reader and to glorify Burley by claiming him to have lost to a heavyweight Ezzard Charles. The truth being Charles was a middleweight in 1942

Ray Robinson won the welterweight title only days before 1947, Burley was beaten only weeks later by Bert Lytell. i cannot see how Robinson would be avoiding Burley. i cannot see Burley being a contender for Robinson's welterweight title in 1947. my opinion is the the writer/relative who wrote the book, used Robinson to glorify Burley. in fact my honest opinion is Charley Burley was a good fighter, just like hundreds of other fighters at that period in time. But he was nothing special.

[Galileo]

Joeandthebums, i appreciate and accept all of what you say. i would like to hear your opinion on Burley having to fight Heavyweight Ezzard Charles in 1942 ? Also, what is your opinion on Ray Robinson avoiding Burley? Robinson was still defending his welterweight world title in 1950 when Burley had `hung up his gloves` Yet the book is based of Ray Robinson avoiding Burley, along with Zale, Graziano and every other champion of the 1940s.