Big,strong Ron Lyle was a heavyweight who fought during the talent rich 1970′s. He was a main stream contender for nearly a decade. He fought “The Greatest”,Muhammad Ali for the title and more then held his own until being stopped in round eleven. He had “Big” George Foreman on the canvas twice before succumbing to George’s power in probably one of the best heavyweight battles of all time. His all action shoot out with Earnie Shavers would be a strong runner up to his bout with Foreman.
Ron started his career late after serving 7 ½ years in prison. It did not take him long to establish himself. Wins over Manuel Ramos, Jack O’Halloran, Vincente Rondon, Buster Mathis, Luis Pires and Larry Middleton moved him up quickly in the ratings. Granted that Ramos was a washed up former contender and O’Halloran was a fringe contender. Rondon was a former light heavyweight title claimant until “Bad” Bobby Foster drilled that dream out of his head. Middleton was a game and clever boxer who just happened to lack a punch. Pires was a decent heavyweight from South America. Nevertheless this impressive win streak sent him into a bout with Jerry Quarry. The hard luck Quarry was on the downside of his career and had recently suffered his second loss to Muhammad Ali. On this night though Jerry’s experience and Lyle’s lack of it was clearly evident. Quarry took Ron to counter punching school and handed Lyle his first loss. Even in defeat Ron showed his gameness. Overmatched at this stage of his career he hung tough and he learned his lessons well.
To Ron’s credit he quickly went back to the business of re-establishing himself. A win and a draw against clever Gregorio Peralta. Pulverizing knockouts over the very dangerous Jose Luis Garcia, Jurgen Blin and hard hitting Boone Kirkman. Then came a decision win over Larry Middleton in a rematch. Twelve round verdicts over the clever former champion Jimmy Ellis and rugged Oscar Bonevena put Lyle back in the title picture. His only loss during this time was a decision setback against slick boxing Jimmy Young. Ron finally challenged Muhammad Ali for the world’s championship that Ali had regained the year before when he “Rope-a-Doped” the Mummy, George Foreman.
Ali tried to use that same tactic against Lyle but Ron would have none of it. Forcing Ali to box at ring center Lyle was able to trade evenly with Ali in a very slow paced bout. For a big and strong guy, Ron was a decent boxer. He was not a good enough boxer though to match wits with Ali, Young or even Quarry. In hindsight Ron should have fought a different fight. He should been more aggressive and taken chances. In round eleven Ali stunned Lyle and trapped him in a corner. Ali’s follow up barrage had Ron out on his feet when the referee intervened. Ron would never receive another shot at the title. Very unfair based on his credentials. Lyle’s bout with Shavers was a slugfest. Ron got up off the canvas to score a brutal knockout. The brawl with Foreman was a classic for the ages. It pitted two of the biggest, strongest men ever to lace on a boxing glove. They traded bombs with each other with no regard for defense. It was a savage war of attrition in which both men tasted the canvas. Lyle finally fell for good in round five.
The loss to Foreman and another decision loss to the clever Jimmy Young forced Ron to rally toward another title shot. Hard fought decision wins over Joe Bugner, Stan Ward and Scott LeDoux again put Ron on contention. A suprising second round kayo loss to unheralded Lynn Ball dropped Ron from consideration. In his last significant bout Gerry Cooney halted Ron in one round. Ron made a brief comeback years later but it was in the 70′s that Lyle made his mark.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
For sure Ron Lyle was one of the premier heavyweights in the hugely competitive 1970s. The Foreman slugfest is one of my all time favourite fights and should be on every boxing fans top 10 list. Lyle vs Shavers was another exciting up and down war with this time big Ron coming out on top. I don’t think there is any doubt that in another era Ron Lyle would have been world champion.