Archie Moore on Charley Burley

Burley didn't like Moore. There are stories that he delibertely protracted Archie's beating to punish him for his admitted cockiness. Whatever the truth of these stories the two later became pals. Here are some of Archie's thoughts on Burley:

"Fighting Charley Burely was almost inhuman, because he kept his punches coming at you like a riveting gun beats a tattoo on a rivet. He was a human machinegun the way he kept those punches spouting out, and nerly as dangerous. He was the best fighter I ever fought and the best fighter I ever saw. I recall not being to impressed by Charley [before the fight], of course. I knew he had been scaring everybody to death on the coast. THere hd been stories about how he had chased heavyweight's out of the gym, stiffened sparring partners with the big training gloves. But you must take into account that i've never been burdened by false modesty.

That night in Hollywood Burley did things i've never seen anybody else do...he got away with things that would have got another fighter killed. He kep this hands low and could feint you with his head, his hands, his shoulders, his knees...but the thing that sticks in my mind the most about Burley is the way he defied gravity. He could lean way back on his heels, it just made you miss. You'd figure: this man's way off balance, he can't break an egg from that position. Then you'd get the surprise. Burley could knock you dead from that position, and he could do it with either hand. I've been beaten in other fights - you look at my record, i've been in with a couple of hundred pro's - I was bound to drop a few. But I never lost like I lost to Burley.

He had me on the floor many times, but more than that he outboxed me. That's something I could never understand, because nobody had ever done that to be before. And no-one, incidently, has done it since.

I would say, personally, that I think Charley Burley could have beaten Ray [Robinson] in Ray's best time."


Burley, giving up 5lbs t 155lbs, was credited with 9 of the 10 rounds.

 

I would love, love to have that fight on film. Maybe more than any other.

 

Yes. Barely. In my opinion Burley finished Moore's education. In fact, Moore says that himself, elsewhere, "Burley gave me a boxing education". For years I just thought that this was a turn of phrase, but it seems it may have been about right - Moore was not all he would become, perhaps, but he's in his physical prime with some top level fights under his belt.

Note that Moore himself seems to have considered himself primed for the fight.

 

Yeah.

Probably underated at middle generally, two great wins for Charles. Charles, though it hurts me to say it, is a class above Burley.

But he's a class above everybody not named Robinson, Armstrong, Greb or Langford, basically.