Ron Lyle
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 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 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.
