Charlie Burley vs Henry Armstrong in Welterweight Div. Who Wins?

I havent seen Burley but based on what Ive seen I have to choose Armstrong, my 5th greatest boxer.

 

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Wow. Could Burley handle that heat? If Charley didn't go hard at the first bell he might get too far behind before he warmed up. That was sometimes a pattern of his. Leto got on top of him early and fended off Burley's late run. Zivic outbusied him. I think Armstrong could do something of both.

 

I pick Armstrong, by the tiniest and slimest of chances.

 

Hi Antonio.
Could I take a punt on 3 of your top four, with your permission, in any order : Greb / SRR / Langford / so that leaves one more, maybe Charles ? put me straight please.
stay safe buddy, always have time for your posts and thoughts, they form a large part of the forum.
Mike.

 

Burley's natural size would see him home here. Armstrong's great and beat all sorts of bigger guys while weighing in quite light, but Charlie is a different kettle of fish. Armstrong's aggression would push Burley up a couple of gears and I'd hate to be facing that. Armstrong was super durable tho and only stopped in his first ever fight, and one against Zivic. He beat Zivic 2-1. Burley was still on the up and beat him easily in the second and third bouts. Zivic was negotiating to fight the champ Armstrong bought out Burley's contract which kept him out of the title picture, in reality. Common sense tells us Burley was easily Zivic's match by the end of their trilogy. Zivic later beat Armstrong twice in title bouts a year or so later.

If Burley can handle the heat and dirtiness Zivic brought he'll be too much for Hank. Hank's undersized in this particular battle, as great as he was.

 

Henry Armstrong was pound for pound the far better fighter. But Burley would have an obvious advantage here. That’s not to say Henry would have no chance. It might be a very close fight and one he might just win. But on the surface it’s hard to make him a favorite

 

Thanks!
My top five reads like this:
Ali/Robinson/Duran/Chavez/Armstrong.

 

Thanks!!!

 

I'd pick Burley but with Jack as the third man ,and assuming it goes the distance, Henry might get it on aggression.

 

Hi John.
Thanks for a very detailed and impressive breakdown of this most intriguing fight, I also think Burley would prevail guided by your analysis, add to this Burley hung with, and beat some of the most avoided fighters of his generation, when you have bested the likes of, Lytell, Wade, Soose, Chase, Bolden, Cocoa Kid, Williams, and Archie Moore, the smaller ( I suspect ) Armstrong would not present too great a problem for Burley to overcome, as you alluded to, Burley could be one paced and fall into inactivity, as was the knock against him during his career, so the ever incessant Armstrong would force the best out of him, and in my eyes the best of Burley would be too much for Henry.
always a treat to see and read your post, few do it better.
stay safe buddy, chat soon.
Mike.

 

Burley was managed by Phil Goldstein when Zivic was chosen as Armstrong's title defense. Burley's contract wasnt sold until March 1941 (after Zivic won the title) and it was sold to Irwin Silverman, not Zivic. By that point Zivic was already obligated to Mike Jacobs for a title defense which ultimately would be Freddie Red Cochrane. Zivic lost to Cochrane. There has been a lot made of Burley supposedly being blocked from challenging Zivic for a title because Zivic bought out his contract but the timelines dont add up. So like a lot stories in the sport, this one is false.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it Mike, and very glad to have you on my side of the ledger buddy.

 

Interesting. There's a lot of information out there saying he did. Claims that Zivic put up the money for his contract and Luke Carney was calling the shots.

Zivic would not have known he was going to both win and lose the title, so the timeline is flawed for mine. Also, if Burley did get a title shot and win it, he would have been directly in the way of Zivic winning it. I don't see any flaw with Zivic wanting to keep Burley out of the opposite corner. Ill keep an open mind and see what i can dig up in coming days.