Charley Burley: Analyzing Genius

[marbleheadmaui]

Not many. How many Greb fights are on film? Is he any less a middleweight for it? How about Gans or Benny Leonard? Just a couple of half assed lightweights I suppose. And what of Jimmy Wilde or say George Dixon?

Hey we don't have it on film so I guess Alexander never conquered Persia! It's all the imagination of some loaded up Babylonian Journalist!

I've never seen a dinosaur on film therefore they never existed.

The attitude KILLS me! It's like these guys don't know that back in the 1930's and 1940's there would be DOZENS of reporters describing a fight, so even if you fon't have footage, and if you're willing to do the work, you can get to many of those accounts, read them and get a pretty good idea what went on. Heck, radio recordings can still be found in many cases. The notion that there was ONE account and that's all we have is just ill-informed.

It's no different than studying any other kind of history.

The murders row were ducked.

That includes;

Holman Williams
Charley Burley
Jack Chase
Cocoa Kid
Lloyd Marshall
Kid Tunero
Eddie Booker
Joe Carter
Bert Lytell
Aaron Wade
Archie Moore

Yup. And I think one could include California Jacke Wilson as well. The war years and the freezing of titles, while I understand the rationale, really screwed, in particular, Jimmy Bivins (though a 175 and thus not really part of the group), Burley and Holman Williams. Those three were likely the best of the list and by the time 1946 rolled around each was past his best.