Ron Lyle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ron Lyle was an American professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

in the heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

division. He is considered to have been one of the best contenders of his era. He was a crowd-pleasing power puncher.

Early life

Lyle was born to William and Nellie Lyle. He was one of 19 children, and the only one to get in trouble with the law. When he was in his teens, Lyle was arrested and charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Douglas Byrd in a gang fight. Lyle was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15–25 years at the Colorado State Penitentiary. While in prison, Lyle was knifed and underwent a seven-hour operation; twice pronounced dead on the operating table, he needed 35 pints of blood to keep him alive. Lyle credited Lt. Cliff Mattax, the athletic director at the prison, with getting him interested in boxing and changing his life.

While in prison, Lyle excelled in four sports: boxing, baseball, basketball, and football. Lyle fought on his prison's boxing team. In his first match, Lyle was defeated by Texas Johnson. However, Lyle never lost a prison boxing match again. After serving seven-and-a-half years in prison, Lyle was paroled on Sunday, November 22, 1969.

Amateur career

After prison, Lyle joined the Denver Elks Gym and started boxing for Bill Daniels. Lyle's first amateur victory was a third round knockout over Fred Houpe (who would later be Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...

's final opponent). His amateur career lasted only 14 months, and he compiled a record of 25-4 with 17 knockouts. He was the 1970 National AAU Heavyweight Champion, the 1970 North American Amateur Heavyweight Champion, and the 1970 International Boxing League Heavyweight Champion. Lyle was a member of the United States Boxing Team. He lost to Russian Ivan Alexi, but knocked out Russian heavyweight Kamo Saroyan in a match broadcast by ABC television's Wide World of Sports.

Pro career

Lyle had a very late start in professional boxing. He turned professional under Bill Daniels, with trainer Bobby Lewis. His first fight was at the age of 30 in Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, against A.J Staples, which he won by knockout in the second round. Lyle went on to post a 19-0-2 record with 17 knockouts, and became the 5th rated heavyweight contender. He scored impressive knockouts over notables Vicente Rondon

Vicente Rondon

Vicente Paúl Rondón was a former WBA light heavyweight boxing world champion.- Personal background :Rondon was born in extreme poverty in Río Chico, Miranda, Venezuela, and decided to escape his poor surroundings by enlisting in the Venezuelan military at an early age.- Professional career :When...

, a light heavyweight champion; hulking Buster Mathis

Buster Mathis

Buster Mathis was a boxer who had a very successful career as an amateur heavyweight boxer. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. However, he was injured and was unable to compete there. Instead of him, the fighter Mathis beat in the Olympic Trials went to the Olympics...

; and prospect Larry Middleton. Lyle's undefeated streak ended on a one-sided decision to veteran Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry

Jerry Quarry , nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an Irish-American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, 1968–1971, and was one of the biggest stars of arguably the greatest era in the history of the heavyweight division.-...

: the latter gave one of his career best performances using a boxer/puncher style to create openings first, gaining the initiative using his greater experience very well. Lyle then lost to skilled Jimmy Young

Jimmy Young

Jimmy Young may refer to:*Jimmy Young *Jimmy Young , singer -See also:*Jim Young *James Young...

in 1975. In a later rematch, Young again edged Lyle and went on to outpoint George Foreman

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

in 1977.

Lyle vs. Ali

On May 16, 1975 he was given an opportunity to face heavyweight

Heavyweight

champion Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

, during Ali's second title defense in his second reign as champion. Lyle was the more aggressive fighter in the early rounds, with Ali conserving his energy and covering up in the center of the ring allowing Lyle to score. Lyle also showed restraint and did not respond to Ali's attempts at the rope-a-dope

Rope-a-dope

The Rope-a-dope is a boxing fighting style commonly associated with Muhammad Ali in his 1974 Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman.-Technique:...

ploy. Though in danger of falling too far behind on points, Ali appeared to be in control of the pace of the fight, and picked his moments to score. The fight was close going into the 11th round, with Lyle winning on all three of the judges' score cards. Ali then hit Lyle with a strong right hand and followed up by hitting Lyle with unanswered combinations to the head before the referee stopped the fight. Lyle's corner was not happy with the referee’s decision. Lyle was interviewed after the fight and had no visible signs of injury.

Lyle vs. Foreman

Lyle is perhaps best known for a brawling fight in 1976 with Hall of Famer

International Boxing Hall of Fame

The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

. Foreman was making a comeback after suffering his first loss to Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

in the Rumble in the Jungle.

The fight is looked upon to this day as one of the most exciting and brutal in heavyweight history. Lyle took the offensive against the former champion and won the opening round. At one point he hit Foreman with a staggering body punch that almost made his trunks fall off. After almost being knocked out in Round Two, Lyle amazed the crowd by flooring Foreman twice in the fourth round. Other than Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Young, Lyle was the only boxer to have ever knocked down George Foreman during a professional boxing match. Foreman later wrote in his autobiography that Lyle was the toughtest man he ever fought. The former champion recovered and scored a knockout in the fifth round.

Lyle scored impressive victories over rated Jose Luis Garcia

José Luis García

José Luis García is an Argentine football midfielder. He currently plays for Almirante Brown.-External links:*...

, and big names Oscar Bonavena

Oscar Bonavena

Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena was a heavyweight professional boxer with a career record of 58 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw. A rugged, wild-swinging puncher, he was nicknamed "Ringo" because of his Beatles haircut, and enjoyed professional success in both Argentina and the United States...

and Earnie Shavers

Earnie Shavers

Earnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer and is widely considered along with George Foreman as the hardest punchers of all time...

during his career. He also won a split decision over Joe Bugner

Joe Bugner

József Kreul "Joe" Bugner is a Hungarian-born British-Australian former top heavyweight boxer. He holds triple nationality, being a citizen of Hungary and a naturalized citizen of both Australia and the United Kingdom where he learned to box and spent his peak years.Born in Szőreg, a southeastern...

, boring in with a thudding body attack in a fine contest. Bugner later explained this was one of his own most punishing matches.

Later career

1979 marked a decline in Lyle's abilities. Draws with fringe contenders Stan Ward and Scott LeDoux

Scott LeDoux

Alan Scott LeDoux, "The Fighting Frenchman," was a politician, professional heavyweight boxer, professional wrestler and referee.-Boxing:...

were followed by a stunning one-punch loss to unheard-of Lynn Ball. Ball went on to match other names but never achieved similar success. Ring magazine quoted Lyle as saying afterwards "No one does that to me."

He would return to the ring, however, but not for long. Ron retired again after a first-round knockout loss to then-rising star and undefeated power-hitting Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...

. By then, Lyle was 39 years old and his best years had gone.

Comeback

In 1995, at the age of 54, Lyle decided on a brief comeback. After scoring four quick knockouts over second-rate opponents, Lyle tried to get a rematch with George Foreman

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

. However, the match was never made, and Lyle retired from boxing.

Retirement

While Lyle was working as a security guard in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, he was accused of another murder. He shot a man in his apartment who had spent time with him in the Colorado State Penitentiary. The retired boxer claimed self defense and was found not guilty. A biography, called Off the Ropes: the Ron Lyle Story, was written by Candace Toft and released by Scratching Shed Publishing in May 2010.

He ran the boxing

Boxing

gym, Denver Red Shield in Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. He was the former trainer of light welterweight

Light welterweight

-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

contender Victor Ortiz

Victor Ortíz

Victor Ortiz is an American professional boxer of Mexican descent and the former WBC welterweight champion.He was previously in the light welterweight division, where he held the USBA & NABO title....

, who fought out of Denver, during some his amateur career.

1992 he trained a young promising talent from Las Vegas Nevada, Arash Hashemi and under his mentor Hashemi won two Golden Gloves championships.

Death

Lyle died at the age of 70, on Saturday November 26, 2011 from complications from a sudden stomach ailment.

Lyle in the media and popular culture

Ron Lyle appeared in the film 'Facing Ali', a 2009 documentary, where he discusses his life and career. About his fight against Ali, when referee Fredy Nunez stopped the fight he said "I could not believe it you know, I am ahead on all scorecards. Am I bitter? Forget about it, I never took it personal. If there don't be for Ali, you think you would be sitting here talking to Ron Lyle? About what?"

Professional boxing record

Dave Slaughter
|TKO
|2
|18/08/1995
|align=left|

Regency Hotel, Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...