Ron Lyle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ron Lyle (born February 12, 1941) was a professional boxer. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Lyle was a late starter in professional boxing after being released from prison. He started at the age of 29 in Denver, Colorado, against A.J Staples, earning a knockout in the second round. He was jailed for 3.5 years in the Colorado state penitentiary for second-degree murder, during which he was stabbed in the abdomen. He almost died from the injury but was saved by doctors in a 7.5 hour operation.

Lyle won his first 19 fights. Even though he lost to Jerry Quarry in 1973 and Jimmy Young in 1975, he was given an opportunity to face Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali in 1975, Ali's second title defense in his second reign as champion. Lyle was very cautious throughout the fight. Lyle did not try to go after Ali and knock him out, but instead tried to out-box Ali. The fight was close going into the 11th round, with Lyle winning by a slight margin, but Ali then caught Lyle with a strong right hand, hurting Lyle badly, and then hitting Lyle with almost 20 unanswered punches before the referee stopped the fight. However, Lyle team was not happy with the referee’s decision to stop the fight.

Lyle is perhaps most famous for his fight against George Foreman. Foreman had not fought a serious match since his loss to Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle, and Lyle took advantage of this long lay-off, swarming Foreman and dropping Foreman twice in the fight. Foreman knocked Lyle down several times as well, knocking Lyle out cold in the 5th round after a barrage of punches while Lyle was pinned in the ring corner. This fight earned the fight of the year award, and is considered one of the most exciting fights in Heavyweight history.

Lyle currently trains other boxers.