POST-FIGHT
If possible, Burley's final assault becomes even more dramatic when the official scorecards are revealed.
Referee Arthur Donovan had Burley firmly in control, eight rounds to five, with two even.
But the two judges, Willie DeJames and Jack O'Sullivan, each had Zale ahead, 7-6-2, heading into the 15th. So, no matter how convincingly Burley won the final frame, Zale would have escaped with a draw and his title had he made it to the final bell.
Zale regains consciousness about 10 minutes after Donovan stops the fight and is rushed to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, where he is treated for a severely broken nose and kept overnight for observation, but released the next morning.
Burley, the first black fighter to hold the undisputed middleweight championship since Tiger Flowers two decades earlier, celebrates in the ring with an entourage that includes the man widely considered the uncrowned welterweight champion, Sugar Ray Robinson.
"I'd like to thank Tony Zale for giving me the chance to fight for this title," Burley tells a national radio audience. "And I'll be more than glad to return the favor. This feels better than I ever thought it could."