Reynolds had been kod in 4 of his last 7 fights and and won just 2 of the others. He took all those punches flush with no attempt to slip or ride them. A spectacular ko over a brave but very limited fighter. Marciano's ko of Reynolds is said to be similar in its dramatic ending.
I think Cesar Brion finished off Reynolds potential as a fighter, but he got some good write ups on the way up. 13 KO streak in the New York area at that time was nothing to be sniffed at. He scored a lot of knockouts. To be fair Bernie had quite a good first round against Charles. He did not look out of his depth in that round at least.
He fought toe to toe with Marciano in their first round, but the second round was "all she wrote".:-(
Yes they say he gave Rocky a handfull in the first round. I can't believe what actor Robert Mitchum reckons happened when he got into a bar room fight with Bernie Reynolds. I think it Has the smell of too much publicity to me. Mitcham was given a black eye after a fan insisted he was Kirk Douglas. Perhaps The Reynolds "fight" salvaged Robert's tough guy image?