Ron Lyle

Hi all

So I've not seen this brought up on ere, but apologise if it already has...

Ron Lyle has passed away - now I've not had much exposer to this boxer but have seen he was good enough to trade with Ali & Foreman with the latter fight said to have been s barnstormer! Beat Earnie Shavers & after the Foreman defeat he went on to beat our own Joe Bugner!

Does anyone recall seeing him in action or have any fond memories of him??

Either way - RIP Ron

From what I've seen and read, he was an excellent boxer. Probably one of the best boxers never to win a title, and would almost certainly have been a champion in any other era.

IMO he had a very stange style in that he essentially tried to beat opponents at their own game. For example, he tried to out-hit Foremand and outbox Ali etc. Therefore it is surprising he was as successful as he was bearing in mind that most boxers spend their entire careers trying to master one style while Lyle could beat them at their own game in one fight.

Great fighter, RIP.

Has already been done. And my abiding memory of the man is the war he had with Foreman.

Ok cheers - will be YouTube-ing a bit of him I think

Is well worth a few minutes of your time Jonesy, has the big gunner going and they were putting everything they had into every punch.

Just watched the fight and what a fight it was! How Foreman survived is beyond me - showed great heart and determination!!! I'd never see Foreman in that much trouble before...

I'm surprised that in Lyle who had that ability and power never won a world title.

Surely that made it to be a candidate if not the fight of the year if anyone knows?

Was Ring fight of the year in 76 and deservedly so.

I almost erupted when watching the Berto vs Ortiz fight as Lampley cried out "Foreman Lyle stand aside" after the Berto knockdown in the 6th.

Although a great fight the comparison was unwarranted and poorly judged.

coxy0001 wrote:I almost erupted when watching the Berto vs Ortiz fight as Lampley cried out "Foreman Lyle stand aside" after the Berto knockdown in the 6th.

Although a great fight the comparison was unwarranted and poorly judged.

Yeah Lampley does my head in at times, poor comparison.

Great fights with Shavers and Foreman.

coxy0001 wrote:I almost erupted when watching the Berto vs Ortiz fight as Lampley cried out "Foreman Lyle stand aside" after the Berto knockdown in the 6th.

Although a great fight the comparison was unwarranted and poorly judged.

Absolutely rediculous comparison!! Hope one of his peers has had a word with him since!!

If memory serves me right he was ahead on the cards when stopped by Ali, but it was very near the end of Ali's career.

I read a quote from him, asking if he was bitter that the referee stepped in when he was ahead against Ali. He said hell no, who'd be wanting to interview Ron Lyle if he'd never fought Ali? Good to see a guy who's happy with what he got out of the sport.

It's impressive the way he turned his life around too. He was jailed for several years and shanked in the gut, hardly a guy you'd expect to become a top contender in his field. Must be one of the more intimidating fighters of all time too.