Charley Burley (September 6, 1917 – October 16, 1992) was an American boxer who fought as a welterweight and middleweight from 1936 to 1950. Archie Moore, the light-heavyweight champion who was defeated by Burley in a 1944 middleweight bout, was one of several fighters who called Burley the greatest fighter ever. Burley was the penultimate holder of both the World Colored Welterweight Championship and the World Colored Middleweight Championship.
Early life
He was born Charles Duane Burley in Bessemer, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1917 to a mixed-race couple: his father was a black coal miner and his mother a white Irish immigrant from County Cork. As a welterweight, he won a Golden Gloves Senior and lost the 1936 National Senior Championship finals. Less than two years later, on August 22, 1938, Burley met the Cocoa Kid at Hickey Park in Millvale, Pennsylvania for the World Colored Welterweight Championship. He won a unanimous decision in the 15-round bout, knocking the Kid to the canvas three times and defeating him decisively, taking his title. During the fight Burley showed remarkable defense using the crab style while slipping and using the shoulder roll to avoid punches. Burley is also seen throwing a spear jab to split Smith's guard during the fight.
Burley's former sparring partner A.J. "Blackie" Nelson offers this comparison: "I see a lot of Charley in this kid, Roy Jones Jr. Both had unorthodox styles, could hit you from any angle, both hard to hit. Charley jabbed more than Jones, if Jones would concentrate on boxing as Charley did, he would become an all-time great."
Eddie Futch, the great trainer, called Burley "the finest all-around fighter I ever saw."
Burley was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time, elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1983 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
Burley was ranked 39th on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years.
An exhibit at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at Pittsburgh's Senator Heinz History Center states that Burley was the model for the character Troy in August Wilson's play Fences.
Professional boxing record
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!
!Result
!Record
!Opponent
!Type
!Round
!Date
!Location
!Notes
|-
|98
|Win
|
|style="text-align:left;"| Pilar Bastidas
|PTS
|10
|Jul 22, 1950
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|97
|Win
|82–12–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Buddy Hodnett
|KO
|6 (8)
|Mar 2, 1950
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|96
|Win
|81–12–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Chuck Higgins
|KO
|1 (8)
|Feb 2, 1950
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|95
|Win
|80–12–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Willie Wright
|PTS
|8
|Jul 25, 1949
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|94
|Loss
|79–12–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Charley Doc Williams
|PTS
|10
|Apr 3, 1949
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|93
|Win
|79–11–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Lonnie Craft
|KO
|3 (6)
|Mar 24, 1948
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|92
|Win
|78–11–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Larry Cartwright
|TKO
|8 (10)
|Aug 8, 1947
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|91
|Loss
|77–11–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Bert Lytell
|UD
|10
|Feb 17, 1947
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|90
|Win
|77–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Bert Lytell
|UD
|10
|Aug 5, 1946
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|89
|Win
|76–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Charley Banks
|PTS
|10
|Jul 16, 1946
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|88
|Win
|75–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Oakland Billy Smith
|PTS
|10
|Apr 24, 1946
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|87
|Win
|74–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Paulie Peters
|TKO
|2 (10)
|Apr 8, 1946
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|86
|Win
|73–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Charley Dodson
|TKO
|3 (10)
|Mar 14, 1946
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|85
|Win
|72–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Oakland Billy Smith
|PTS
|10
|Oct 8, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|84
|Win
|71–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Speedy Duvall
|KO
|4 (10)
|Sep 28, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|83
|Win
|70–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Dave Clark
|KO
|1 (10)
|Sep 4, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|82
|Win
|69–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Aaron Wade
|UD
|10
|Aug 20, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|81
|Win
|68–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Oscar Boyd
|KO
|2 (8)
|Jul 26, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|80
|Loss
|67–10–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|UD
|12
|Jul 11, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|79
|Win
|67–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Joe Carter
|UD
|10
|Mar 12, 1945
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|78
|Win
|66–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Jack Chase
|TKO
|12 (15)
|Sep 11, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|77
|Win
|65–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Young Gene Buffalo
|TKO
|5 (10)
|Aug 28, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|76
|Win
|64–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Frankie Nelson
|TKO
|7 (10)
|Jun 23, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|75
|Win
|63–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Al Gilbert
|TKO
|4 (10)
|May 12, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|74
|Win
|62–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Archie Moore
|PTS
|10
|Apr 21, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|73
|Win
|61–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Jack Chase
|KO
|9 (15)
|Apr 6, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|72
|Win
|60–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Aaron Wade
|PTS
|10
|Mar 24, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|71
|Win
|59–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Bobby Berger
|KO
|5 (10)
|Mar 3, 1944
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|70
|Win
|58–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Bobby Birch
|PTS
|10
|Jun 26, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|69
|style="background:#DDD"|
|57–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|NC
|10 (10)
|May 14, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|68
|Draw
|57–9–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Herbert Lewis Hardwick
|PTS
|10
|Apr 19, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|67
|Win
|57–9–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Aaron Wade
|PTS
|10
|Mar 3, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|66
|Win
|56–9–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Jack Chase
|UD
|10
|Feb 19, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|65
|Win
|55–9–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Harvey Massey
|TKO
|9 (10)
|Feb 3, 1943
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|64
|Loss
|54–9–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Lloyd Marshall
|SD
|10
|Dec 11, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|63
|Win
|54–8–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Cecilio Lozada
|TKO
|2 (10)
|Nov 13, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|62
|Loss
|53–8–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|UD
|15
|Oct 16, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|61
|Win
|53–7–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|TKO
|9 (15)
|Aug 14, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|60
|Loss
|52–7–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Ezzard Charles
|UD
|10
|Jun 29, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|59
|Win
|52–6–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|PTS
|10
|Jun 23, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|58
|Loss
|51–6–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Ezzard Charles
|UD
|10
|May 25, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|57
|Win
|51–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| George Wilson
|KO
|2 (10)
|Apr 30, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|56
|Win
|50–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Joe Sutka
|KO
|4 (8)
|Apr 24, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|55
|Win
|49–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Phil McQuillan
|KO
|1 (8)
|Apr 20, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|54
|Win
|48–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Cleo McNeal
|KO
|5 (10)
|Apr 9, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|53
|Win
|47–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Jay D Turner
|TKO
|7 (10)
|Mar 13, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|52
|Win
|46–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|UD
|10
|Feb 26, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|51
|Win
|45–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Shorty Hogue
|RTD
|6 (10)
|Feb 13, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|50
|Win
|44–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Milo Theodorescu
|TKO
|4 (10)
|Feb 6, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|49
|Win
|43–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Jackie Burke
|TKO
|5 (10)
|Jan 23, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|48
|Win
|42–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Shorty Hogue
|TKO
|10 (10)
|Jan 9, 1942
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|47
|Win
|41–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Jerry Hayes
|KO
|4 (10)
|Dec 23, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|46
|Win
|40–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Ted Morrison
|TKO
|2 (8)
|Dec 12, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|45
|Win
|39–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Antonio Fernandez
|PTS
|10
|Sep 25, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|44
|Win
|38–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Otto Blackwell
|PTS
|8
|Aug 25, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|43
|Win
|37–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Young Gene Buffalo
|TKO
|5 (10)
|Jul 14, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|42
|Win
|36–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Ossie Harris
|TKO
|9 (10)
|Jun 2, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|41
|Win
|35–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Eddie Ellis
|TKO
|5 (8)
|Apr 18, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|40
|Win
|34–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Babe Synnott
|TKO
|5 (8)
|Mar 31, 1941
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|39
|Win
|33–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Vince Pimpinella
|PTS
|10
|Nov 11, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|38
|Win
|32–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Ernest Peirce
|PTS
|10
|Oct 17, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|37
|Loss
|31–5–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Jimmy Bivins
|UD
|10
|Sep 3, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|36
|Win
|31–4–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Kenny LaSalle
|UD
|10
|Aug 19, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|35
|Draw
|30–4–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Georgie Abrams
|PTS
|10
|Jul 29, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|34
|Win
|30–4
|style="text-align:left;"| Carl Dell
|PTS
|10
|Jun 17, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|33
|Win
|29–4
|style="text-align:left;"| Sam Edwards
|KO
|2 (10)
|Apr 26, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|32
|Win
|28–4
|style="text-align:left;"| Baby Kid Chocolate
|TKO
|5 (10)
|Apr 12, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|31
|Win
|27–4
|style="text-align:left;"| Nate Bolden
|PTS
|10
|Feb 12, 1940
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|30
|Loss
|26–4
|style="text-align:left;"| Holman Williams
|PTS
|15
|Dec 1, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|29
|Win
|26–3
|style="text-align:left;"| Mickey Makar
|KO
|1 (10)
|Oct 23, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|28
|Win
|25–3
|style="text-align:left;"| Jimmy Leto
|PTS
|10
|Aug 28, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|27
|Win
|24–3
|style="text-align:left;"| Fritzie Zivic
|UD
|10
|Jul 17, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|26
|Loss
|23–3
|style="text-align:left;"| Jimmy Leto
|SD
|10
|Jun 20, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|25
|Win
|23–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Sonny Jones
|TKO
|7 (12)
|Jan 10, 1939
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|24
|Win
|22–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Billy Soose
|UD
|10
|Nov 21, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|23
|Win
|21–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Werther Arcelli
|KO
|1 (10)
|Nov 3, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|22
|Win
|20–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Herbert Lewis Hardwick
|UD
|15
|Aug 22, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
|21
|Win
|19–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Leon Zorrita
|UD
|10
|Aug 2, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|20
|Win
|18–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Fritzie Zivic
|UD
|10
|Jun 13, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|19
|Win
|17–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Mike Barto
|TKO
|4 (10)
|Jun 1, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|18
|Loss
|16–2
|style="text-align:left;"| Fritzie Zivic
|SD
|10
|Mar 21, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|17
|Win
|16–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Art Tate
|KO
|2 (6)
|Mar 3, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|16
|Win
|15–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Carl Turner
|UD
|4
|Feb 10, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|15
|Win
|14–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Johnny Folio
|PTS
|4
|Feb 3, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|14
|Win
|13–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Tiger Jackson
|KO
|2 (4)
|Jan 27, 1938
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|13
|Loss
|12–1
|style="text-align:left;"| Eddie Dolan
|UD
|8
|Sep 9, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|12
|Win
|12–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Sammy Grippe
|TKO
|6 (8)
|Aug 16, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|11
|Win
|11–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Remo Fernandez
|TKO
|7 (8)
|Aug 9, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|10
|Win
|10–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Mickey O'Brien
|PTS
|10
|Jun 24, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|9
|Win
|9–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Keith Goodballet
|TKO
|2 (8)
|May 27, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|8
|Win
|8–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Sammy Grippe
|PTS
|6
|May 3, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|7
|Win
|7–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Ray Gray
|PTS
|6
|Apr 19, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|6
|Win
|6–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Johnny Folio
|TKO
|5 (8)
|Apr 15, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|5
|Win
|5–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Ray Collins
|TKO
|5 (8)
|Feb 8, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|4
|Win
|4–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Ralph Gizzy
|KO
|2 (8)
|Jan 22, 1937
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|3
|Win
|3–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Eddie Wirko
|TKO
|5 (6)
|Nov 9, 1936
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|2
|Win
|2–0
|style="text-align:left;"| Ralph Gizzy
|PTS
|6
|Oct 22, 1936
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|1
|Win
|1–0
|style="text-align:left;"| George Liggins
|KO
|4 (4)
|Sep 29, 1936
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
|-
|}
See also
- List of bare-knuckle boxers
- Murderers' Row (Boxing)