Ron Lyle, 1941-2011: His Great Fight With George Foreman (Video)
by Scott Christ on Nov 28, 2011 8:39 PM EST
in Boxing History
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Rugged heavyweight contender Ron Lyle passed away on Saturday, November 26, at the age of 70. Kieran Mulvaney of ESPN remembered Lyle today in a tribute piece:
Born in Denver in 1941, he went to prison at 19 years old for second-degree murder, although he proclaimed his innocence. While in prison, he was stabbed by a fellow inmate and needed a transfusion of 35 pints of blood to survive. But survive he did, and while incarcerated he learned how to box. In 1971, already 30 years old, he fought his first professional contest. He went undefeated in his first 19 bouts before dropping a decision to Jerry Quarry. He suffered his second defeat, also on points, to Jimmy Young in 1975. Despite that defeat, he found himself facing Ali for the title just three months later.
Lyle would lose to Ali despite fighting very well, and then after that stopped the hard-punching Earnie Shavers in six rounds. But as Kieran says, it was Lyle's brawl with George Foreman, coming back from losing the Rumble in the Jungle in October 1974, for which Lyle will be best remembered. It was a hell of a fight -- a rusty Foreman, a determined and powerful Lyle, and a fight that had it gone just a little differently, had Big George not found himself after shaking off the cobwebs, could have put the career of one of the all-time great heavyweights in serious doubt in January 1976.
If you've never seen it, you've got to watch it.
Rest in peace, Ron.
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Now that was a fight!
Why have I never seen this before?!?!?!?
Oh, for the days of excitement in heavyweight boxing.
R.I.P.
I said this on the bloody elbow, and I’ll say it again here:
It takes balls of steel to look at a prime George Foreman across the ring and say to yourself "Hmm, I think I’m gonna slug it out with that guy."
(Also, the guy went toe-to-toe, and was arguably winning a fight with a still-had-it Ali before he got stopped.)
by Verklemptomaniac on Nov 29, 2011 8:34 AM EST reply actions
It takes balls of steel to look at a prime George Foreman across the ring and say to yourself “Hmm, I think I’m gonna slug it out with that guy.”
Cohh U bet. God damm that 4th was out of this world
by Sweet science on Nov 29, 2011 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
RIP
"Boxing is like dealing with a ho"
-Bernard Hopkins
RIP
Very sad, he was apparently doing fine and went fast to some kind of abscess. A great place to get a sense of his extremely likable personality is on the DVD “Facing Ali,” a series of interview with the likes of George Foreman, Frazier, Holmes, Chuvalo, and, obviously, Ron Lyle. Just so likable, and, obviously, so brave.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Chuvalo was great in Facing Ali
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Nov 29, 2011 9:20 AM EST up reply actions
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