How is Charley Burley rated?

What white champion drew the color line against Burley? Id like a specific example of Burley not getting a title shot because he was black.

 

Futch said Burley was the best all around fighter he's ever seen. I take that with a lot of weight as Futch was maybe the greatest trainer ever and his pulse on boxing spans an insane amount of time. I'm not as familiar with the intricacies of why Burley didn't get a title shot, I'm guessing it had to do with his management and lack of the right connections. If there was 4 world titles and an extra 11 weight classes in his time I'm pretty sure he would of held multiple titles.

 

What part of "specific" do you not understand?

 

If you were speaking generally then why did you quote my post specifically? What does race have to do with Burley not getting a title shot? This topic is about Burley. How did the color line prevent Burley from getting a title shot?

 

There is some credence to your assertion for sure, not so sure it applied to Burley, the perceived wisdom suggests the main reason was his style, it was of the, will do only what is needed, and no more type, and as so he was not a big ticket seller, so the incumbent champion would be risking losing his title ( and source of revenue ) for not a huge payday, and any of the champs on or around Burley in his prime would most certainly be in danger of leaving the ring as ex champ.
stay safe amigo.

 

It sure is. SRR simply didn't fight him cause it didn't make sense financially. Nobody gave a **** about Burley, thus a fight with him would not draw a big crowd and money.

 

Then what says you on why he didn’t get a shot?

 

I'm studying more and more about this guy nowadays. If Archie Moore and Eddie Futch rated him - that's good enough for me!!

 

Its no mystery why he didnt get a title shot. His highest rating coincided with a small event in world history called WW2 when the titles were frozen. Prior to that, when he attained his highest rating at WW Zivic was contractually obligated by MSG to face Cochrane and then lost his title. Six months later WW2 broke out. When the war was finally over Burley was a middleweight. Zales first defense of the middleweight title came in Sept of 1946 against #1 rated Rocky Graziano (now the fact that Graziano was rated #1 is ridiculous but that had to do with his ability to sell tickets, not his race). Within a few months Burley had lost his #2 due to his loss to Lytell and never regained such a high rating. Timing was the primary reason Burley never got a shot. Throw in the fact that he never connected with fans, couldnt sell tickets, and was chronically at odds with his management and you have a guy whose career was always in flux.

 

During his career, Charley Burley had far too many boring bouts. That was a major reason why he wasn't much of a gate attraction.

- Chuck Johnston

 

How do you conclude that Graziano’s race had nothing to do with his ability to sell tickets?

 

From a casual perception Ray Robinson and death really hurt his legacy.


While Ray was still with us, he always overshadowed Burley. When Robinson died, Burley finally got some mainstream kudos, with, rightly or wrongly the tag of the 'Greatest living fighting' often used to describe him. Of course with his death, he also lost that tag...


And even though the Internet era is here, the lack of much footage really has not helped Burley get the respect he deserved.