By James Slater – Perhaps one day they will make a movie about Denver, Colorado heavyweight Ron Lyle, who turns 70 today. Big Ron sure has some story to tell. Not only did he battle almost every conceivable heavyweight name from that glory-filled boxing decade that was the 1970s, beating a great deal of them; but Lyle also had some eventful life before boxing “saved” him.
Sent to prison for second degree murder in the early 1960s, Lyle was stabbed while inside, with him twice being pronounced dead on the operating table.. Ron’s near miraculous survival convinced him to make good of his life, dedicating himself to sports whilst serving his sentence. It was boxing that the man born in Dayton, Ohio excelled in, though, and upon his release in November of 1969, the big, strong, athletic, 6’3,” approx 220-pounder began his boxing career.
A somewhat brief amateur stint that saw him go 25-4(17) followed, included among his wins a brutal KO of Duane Bobick, “I hit him real hard and he was out for a long time,” Lyle recalled for Boxing News in late 2009. “I even got nervous but thankfully, he was okay.”
Then, unable to afford to stay amateur, Lyle went pro at the age of 27.
Amazingly, considering his relative lack of experience, Lyle was able to go in with and defeat guys like Buster Mathis, KO’ing “Big Bus” in 2-rounds in what was just his 17th pro bout. A points loss to Jerry Quarry, in early 1973, momentarily halted Lyle’s progress, but he was soon back knocking opponents out. Jose Luis Garcia fell in the 3rd in the summer of ’73, while top contenders Oscar Bonavena and Jimmy Ellis were out-pointed in ’74.
Now a top-ranked contender himself Ron, despite a points loss to Jimmy Young, got a shot at world champ Muhammad Ali in his next fight, in May of ’76. This is the fight that brought out the best of Lyle, so said the man himself when speaking with Boxing News recently. “The Ali fight, that was me at my very best,” Ron said. “I became a fully-rounder fighter in that match. I could see all his punches coming before they landed and I could move around them. I will always cherish that fight.”
One could actually forgive Ron for feeling bitter over the Ali fight. Ahead on points, Lyle was controversially stopped by a desperate Ali rally in the 11th. Lyle never came close to going down, but the ref dived in. Still, Lyle has no real complaints. “It [whether or not the stoppage was premature] all boils down to opinion,” he said. “The referee is there to protect the fighter and it’s his opinion on when to stop a fight.”
Lyle, as he explained on the recent “Facing Ali” film, is grateful to be part of the Ali legend. “Do you think you’d be talking with me today if I hadn’t fought Ali?” Lyle asked the filmmaker. “About what!”
Lyle was far from finished after the loss to Ali. Indeed, his most famous, his most unforgettable, his plain most incredible fights were still ahead of him. A mere four months after the TKO loss to “The Greatest,” Lyle, now sporting a 30-3-1 record, went in with the fearsome Earnie Shavers. And if that wasn’t enough (as well as saying a whole lot about how much easier heavyweights have things these days), Lyle went in with the even more terrifying George Foreman just four months after getting off the floor to halt “The Acorn” in a sensational give-and-take war.
Lyle rose from a 2nd-round knockdown to stop Earnie in the 6th in his native Denver, but he wasn’t as fortunate against the come-backing Foreman. George, having his first fight back since coming unstuck against Ali, was downed twice by the powerful fists of Lyle, only to somehow recover and put his rival down for a second and final time in the 5th-round of one of the greatest slugfests in history.
Years later, again whilst speaking with Boxing News, Ron recalled both rumbles.
“Shavers was a good fight for me,” Ron said. “The first time I ever had to get up from a knockdown to win a fight; so I passed that test. The Foreman fight didn’t go my way, but it was a fight I’ll never forget. Shavers was a very sharp puncher; Foreman was more of a ‘boom’ type!”
Having faced the two men who are generally listed amongst the hardest-hitting big men in all of boxing, Lyle was entitled to a couple of easy, career-re-building-type fights. Ron had no such luck. Instead, he went in with the crafty Young for a second time, again losing a decision. A points win over Joe Bugner followed, and then came four more decent victories – before Lyle was upset by the little-known Lyne Ball in December of ’79 (a 2nd-round TKO). All but finished at top level by now, Lyle was soon thrown in with the up-and-coming Gerry Cooney – yet another murderous puncher!
Lyle was stopped inside a round in October of 1980; his career effectively ended. And – apart from a short-lived, four-fight comeback (all wins) in 1995 when aged 54! – thus came the end of one of the most exciting, rollercoaster rides in heavyweight boxing history.
Today, Lyle lives a quiet life in Denver, training kids and helping others stay on the good path. And, despite almost dying when barely into his twenties, Ron turns the ripe old age of 70 today. All that remains is to wish the great man a very happy birthday!
Ron does have the final word in this article, though.
“God has blessed me,” he said to Boxing News. “I feel like I’m in my 40s. I’m proud of what I did in the game, of what I accomplished.”
Ron Lyle: 43-7-1(31). Faced Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Ellis, Buster Mathis, Jose Luis Garcia, Oscar Bonavena, Scott LeDoux, Joe Bugner. Stopped just four times as a pro.