Why is Burley ranked so high?

First the good news for us Burley apologists.

Yes, the decision was split. One judge gave it to Charley 56-52. The other judge and the ref had it to Burley 57-53 and 58-52 respectively.

Joe Herman, who owned a gym in San Francisco saw the fight and said that Burley had been "****ed over, he made that an easy win." According to the LA times he did very well down the straight, coming "back in th latter stages of the fight to make up lost ground". It also said that Burley did "plenty of scoring on a lighter, less impressive scale", so it may have been a what-you-like kind of fight, a Hagler-Sugar in reverse. As for the KO's, Burley was not hurt for either one, taking a 2 and 4 count and showing no ill affects. Marshall dropped him twice whilst they were in close, first with a right, then with a left. It must be noted that his hand injury was serious and "practically made him one-handed". The Herald Express: "Burley had to keep his right in an ice pack 24 hours prior to the opening bell to reduce swelling in order to get it past inspectors". Finally, Marshall was the bigger man. Probably at his best at 160-165, Burley seemed at his best around between 150 and 155. Marshall had a 6lb advantage on fight night.

Now for the bad news. Firstly, Burley may not have been hurt for the KO but he was seriously hurt in between them, getting hit with a right that "turned his legs to rubber". The press liked the verdict, The Evening Herald scored it 7-3 for Marshall and was scathing of Burley. The LA Times found for Marshall and went so far as to cal Burley "washed up". Marhsall himself: "It was a tight, tough fight, but I got the decision and I deserved it". Burley himself labelled Marshall his toughest opponent.

Which wraps things up rather nicely. Marshall was bigger, uninjured and also one of the very best of the day. Burley ranked him #1, Overlin ranked him #1. For his own part, after trouncing LaMotta, Marshall opined that Burley would have "no problem" beating Jake.

This loss is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

No bother.

I get it from all over and just whack it on the computer every time i come across a morsel. You could do a lot worse than to read the Otty book on Burley if you are curious, it comes really easy that one.

Burley worked at Herman's gym, so yeah it's possible he was biased. On the other hand, it's possible that he just saw the same thing that the judge who scored for Burley scored - more punches landed but with less on them. One judge scored for each man and the referee was the deciding factor, but neither man made any moves associated with a questionable decision. My impression is that it went the right way. If Burley had two good hands, who knows?

I have some bits and bobs on Charles, but nothing with me here.

 

:good