Charley Burley Vs Marvin Hagler

well if he is such a powerhouse, then why does he use this style and why does he clinch so often? Why isnt he more offensive minded?

No matter the number of times I watch him, he fails to impress and didnt deserve a title

Ive said it before; those who became champion, became champion because they were the most deserving

 

Close, close fight. Burley's style and assets are about as bad as it gets for Marvin. Marvin would have to lead much of the night. It could come down to exactly how well Burley handles a southpaw. close decision either way for me.

 

Man, I'd love to see more of Burley. I've seen so much of Hagler that it is hard not to have a bias.
The Duran fight makes me wonder if Burley could make Marvin hesitant.

 

Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

You may not recover from this post- I suggest making a new account.

 

Basically Burley isn't knocking Hagler out or down. Nobody at 160 is.
By all accounts, he isn't out working him either.

I see it being close, but Hagler always ahead due to greater activity.

 

I just don't see Burley as strong or powerful enough to hold off Hagler. Hagler was a smart fighter, too, and I think his strength tips the scale in his favor. Also, Marvin could switch from southpaw to "conventional" like Burley could from conventional to the portside, so Charley's tricks would be less effective against Marvin than they were against fighters in his era who weren't so comfortable against lefties.

 

Duran held off Hagler comfortably and Burley would hit harder at 160 and i dare say be stronger.

 

Does Burley have enough to prevent Hagler from taking this one wide? I'm not so sure. He's cute, but he's unlikely to be running around the ring, a la Leonard '87. Perhaps I have misread what is known about Burley's style - but, he appears to be too economical for dancing out of range, for long periods. (One presumes we're discussing a Prime Hagler here, anyway?)

I think the Hagler/Duran bout fails as a useful benchmark. Not least, because Hagler was in control of what he was doing, from start to finish, regardless of what Duran did or what the scorecards turned up by the end.

Would Burley be so keen to sit in the pocket, when Hagler's stinging accuracy begins and continues to make it's mark? Is Burley fast enough to avoid and counter on Hagler with a degree of consistency that could deter the Champ?

Not sold. As classy as Burley was, Hagler is somewhere higher-up the food-chain, in my opinion.

 

I'll be on the Guinness in about 2 1/2 hours.

 

Excellent post, Senator

 

Another great post, my Alba friend.

 

In his prime, Charley Burley was an a welterweight or a small middleweight, so he was not as big as Marvin Hagler. He lost two bouts to southpaws, the first one to Eddie Dolan and the second to Bert Lytell. In fairness to Burley, he won in a previous bout with Lytell.

Compared to Sugar Ray Robinson of 1940s vintage, Burley was not that consistent during his career. That is why I think that Ray was a better fighter than Burley. During the 1940s, Ray lost only one bout, one in which he was fighting Jake LaMotta, a truly great middleweight who was extremely strong and weighed 16 pounds more than Ray. In addition, Ray had a very lanky build. It is very possible that Burley could have beaten Ray, but evaluating fighters solely based on head-to-head matchups without considering how well they fared against other fighters is folly.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Good points.

 

Burley, the guy who knocked Moore down four times in a short notice fight was only average on offense? Burley knocked down and knocked out some tough customers; Jack Chase, Holman Williams, The guy who Robinson avoided like the plague? Fifty of his 83 wins are by KO. Hardly what I would consider average offense, especially in that talent ripe era. Yes, he was more defense-minded, maybe not great for television, but still an ATG.

Hagler would have his hands full. Burley has taken punches from bigger and stronger opponents, so I don't see a knockout on either side of this encounter. As much of a fan I am of Hagler, it's hard for me to see him winning. On the other hand, there isn't much footage around of Burley to really make a just assessment of how he would perform. Like Greb, Burley wasn't a big favorite with fans, despite his ability to win.