RINGSIDE By Doug Fischer CHARLEY, RAY AND THE FORTIES
October 2025 Volume 102, No. 11
Founder Nathaniel Fleischer (1888-1972) Owner His Excellency Turki Alalshikh
Editor-in-Chief Douglass Fischer Managing Editor Tom Gray Senior Editor Brian Harty Creative Director Lamar Clark Controller Deborah L. Harrison
Jeddad Knows Age Every Moment Matters Here Jeddah is Different
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T he boxing schedule was pretty light in August, so I turned to YouTube and its treasure trove of vintage fights as I often do during slow periods. I soon found myself down a Charley Burley rabbit hole that was as frustrating as it was fascinating. There’s only one fight featuring the 1930s/’40s standout on YouTube – his 1946 rematch with Oakland Billy Smith – but it led me to several video essays on Burley, which I enjoyed for the most part. However, a recurring theme irked the hell out of me: The notion that Sugar Ray Robinson “ducked” Burley. I should note that these content creators believe several legends of the ring – including Henry Armstrong, Tony Zale, Marcel Cerdan and Billy Conn – avoided Burley, but some made sure to place Robinson’s name in their essay titles while offering little or no evidence supporting the claim.
Close to 19,000 fans witnessed the Robinson-LaMotta rematch, which LaMotta won by decision.
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For the record, I don’t believe that Armstrong, Cerdan or Conn avoided Burley. I do believe that Zale and Freddie Cochrane, the middleweight and welterweight champs during Burley’s prime years, could have granted the talented Pennsylvanian a shot at their titles early in their respective reigns, but I also understand that World War II put their belts on ice from early 1942 until late 1945. That’s a part of Burley’s tragic tale you don’t often hear about from the content creators who I suppose would rather vilify golden age prizefighters than Hitler. The other part of Burley’s story that his enthusiasts almost never bring up is
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