QUESTION SHRINK COULD ANSWER & VIDEO AT END
Ron Lyle
Emeryville, CA– If you ever awaken from Anestesia induced slumber, have a pen and paper handy or a cell voice voice recorder. Because if you’re anything like myself, you’ll wake up with a myriad of thoughts and memories, some of which I was able to scribble on the bootom of a tissue box.
“THAT’S CASSIUS CLAY” SAID MY FATHER
Muhammad Ali
The effects were reliving a few of my own fights, waking up like they had just occurred. There was the first time I saw Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay in San Francisco’s Herman-Newman’s Gym circa five years of age.
DAD SAID “FOREMAN COULD KILL A MAN”
There was then bully George Foreman, only just 17 and his domination of professional heavyweights in mid 1967, a good year and a half before winning the 1968 Olympic Gold Medal. The admission charge, sometimes in effect was 50 cents.
REMEMBERING ZENITH OF RON LYLE
As is the case with both dreams and going to the amusement park, all you can do is go along for the ride. That being the case, Ron Lyle came to mind. Dont know why as I hadn’t seen the Denver, CO native in a decade or so. But it wasn’t my times with Ron while he was training fighters in Johnny Tocco’s Main Street Gym, this segment of the flashback brought me back to May 1975 and Ron’s challenge of then heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
YOUNG BEATS RON AND LYLE GETS TITLE SHOT!
Being a follower of the sweet science, I knew Ron had been upset in ten rounds three months prior to the late Jimmy Young (later Young beat Ali in the minds and didn’t get call). The fight was in Hawaii, but Hall of Fame Jack Fiske let us know in his San Francisco Chronicle column. Not knowing anything about the business of boxing, it stumped me as to why Lyle was getting the title shot. Having been convicted of Murder, Ron Lyle had a story that could be sold on TV.
COSELL FANNED EX-MURDERER FLAMES MADLY
With the convicted killer tag affixed by Howard Cosell as ABCs Wide World of Sports was promoting Ali as the good guy, Lyle the bad guy. In reality, as we have seen in books like the Ghosts of Manila and Sucker Punch, those roles could have probably been reversed. Anyway, Lyle, all of 34-years old, had a record of 30-2-1. Besides being out pointed by Young, Ron had lost a decision to another dead contender from that era in Jerry Quarry.
ALI’S TEAM THOUGHT LYLE WAS A CHUMP!
Ali knew Ron had dropped a dime to the slick boxing, but inexperienced (13-4) Jimmy Young in his prior outing. Like Buster Douglas against Mike Tyson in Tokyo, the champion winning this fight was just a formality. Las Vegas bookmakers had Ali heavily favored. Some people were even using the term exhibition to describe Ali taking on Lyle. Seven months removed from his KO of George Foreman, Ali had one fight in between, that when he “chopped up” Chuck Wepner in five. Weighing a fleshy/soft looking 224, Muhammad had little respect for Ron as a fighter.
LYLE STAYED TRUE TO HIS GAME PLAN!
Lyle told Howard Cosell pre-fight that he wasn’t going to try and kill Ali, I’m just going to beat him. Displaying a good work ethic, underdog Ron Lyle did the unthinkable in that he came to fight! Round after round, if you were an Ali fan, you knew this upstart ex-con was piling up the points. At the end of ten rounds being scored on the five-point must system, judge Bill Kipp had Lyle way ahead 49-43. Art Lurie tabbed it 46-45 for Lyle. Lastly, John Mangriciana had things even (46-46) entering round 11.
WAS QUICK STOP A ROYAL SCREW JOB?
Whether or not Ali was in shape or not, Ron Lyle was taking it to him round after round. Then came the 11th and everyone watching the fight with me, all Ali fans, were muted by Lyle’s performance. With an huge upset imminent, Ali, again not in the best of shape, ran off a combination that rocked Lyle. Incredibly referee Fred Hernandez stopped the fight. Lyle was ticked, Ali less than four rounds away from losing was extremely relieved.
LYLE PREDICTED HIS GETTING SCREWED
Before the fight, Lyle said, “I’m going to win. But I’m afraid they’ll find a way to screw me.” In heavyweight title history, it was one of the quickest and most unwarranted stops there has ever been. As for Fred Hernandez, most felt he should be ashamed to show that fight on his VCR to anybody but Stevie Wonder.
OFFICIALS CONTROL MORE THAN SCORECARDS!
Looking back at the career of Lyle, who died in 2011, there is little doubt that the Ali fight was his moment. But like another ex-con Bert Cooper, who nearly broke Evander Holyfield in half, Lyle says the boxing establishment didn’t want him to be heavyweight champion. After losing to Gerry Cooney in 1980, Lyle retired. Coming back at 54 years old, Ron posted four KOs in 1995. At the end of the road, Lyle’s record stood at 43-7-1, with 31 KOs.
YOU TUBE VIDEO OF LYLE CHALLENGE OF ALI
Pedro Fernandez
Note: Mr. Fernandez is an award-winning writer, TV commentator, radio talk show host, former San Francisco Policeman and four-time Golden Gloves champion. Comments regarding this submission can be left below under the advertising.
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RON LYLE HAD MUHAMMAD ALI BEAT