Fantasy Fight- Burley v Black Dynamite

Charley Burley vs Eddie Booker



So here you have the most heralded of the Murderer's Row against perhaps the least heralded. Burley did pull out of two fights with Booker once stating a cold which seems strange from a man who would fight light heavys or even heavys and had fought with bad injuries believe he fought with a broken hand once or maybe more. Every fighter has his nemesis either psychologically or stylistically. Had Burley seen something in Booker?


The great Archie Moore when asked whom he considered the greatest fighter who ever lived, said, 'Charley Burley; however, there is another fighter who may have been his equal, Eddie Booker.' Burley himself said that Booker would be the hardest fight he would ever have.


A slick defensive stylist, Eddie Booker was popular with the fans the minute he turned pro, with a well-developed and muscular physique, he had the strength and ability to 'mix-it-up' when the chips were down and was happy to either fight or box- he genuinely loved to be in the ring. Compared by some to heavyweight immortal Jack Johnson in regards to his ability to catch a punch and deliver a blow in the same motion with the same hand, Eddie was a methodical workman who used his mind along with his fists.


He was never stopped and fought much of his career with a bad eye and bad hands. Booker was not only the tragic victim of racism in boxing, but also of the seedier, slimy underbelly of the professional fight game. An incident in the ring involving a doctored pair of gloves led to terrible eye injuries that just would not heal. He retired at twenty six.


Eddie Booker was not only one of the most talented fighters to ever live but he was also one of the finest gentlemen. A testament to this is the fact that following a fight in which he donated blood to Archie Moore, they became lifelong friends and Moore became the godfather to one of Booker's sons.


Almost impossibe to call this one, Burly might be that little better at getting out of harm's way, but Booker probably was that little bit more aggressive...

With the black murderers row you can't see things as a one off fight, over a series believe they would split it 2-2, Bookers size advantage combined with his skill would trouble Burley for the first couple of fights but thereafter it would be Burley all the way as it usually was. So difficult to come to a solid answer for any fight between the BMR because of how evenly matched they were and how well they knew eachothers game.