Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle

Muhammad Ali and Ron Lyle fought a boxing match on May 16, 1975. Ali won the bout through a technical knockout in the 11th round.[1][2][3][4]

This bout was aired live primetime in the United States via ABC with Howard Cosell doing the play-by-play and it took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Fight

Ali entered the bout at 224.5 pounds, the heaviest he's ever been for a title match (at the time). Lyle at 219 pounds, was the heaviest in his career for this shot at a title he received despite his loss to a then unknown Jimmy Young two months earlier at Honolulu, Hawaii.

Ali had forecast that a bout would be a "treat for the People", but in many of the rounds, he preferred to accept a treatment from Lyle's sharp punches. The challenger had been exhorted by a chant of "Lyle, Lyle" from several Denver followers, and in the opening round, he bloodied Ali's nose. But it never bled again.

Ali was jarred momentarily by Lyle's punches, usually the right hand. In the fifth, the champion chose to dance, taunting Lyle with jabs but often being pinned against the ropes. In the sixth, he displayed the "Ali Shuffle", to the delight of the crowd, and to the temporary confusion of the stiff-moving challenger.

As the leggy blonde showgirl from the Tropicana Hotel strutted past Ali with a big card signaling the start of the eighth round, Ali stared, aware that this was the round he would knock out Lyle. From his flatfooted stance, he tried for the knockout, but Lyle cornered, fought him off, particularly with a jarring right hand.

For the next two rounds, Ali rested, boxing defensively, retreated to the ropes and accepting Lyle's punches. But in the fateful 11th when he connected with the right hand. Ali suddenly pounced and finished Lyle (Ali was behind on 2 of the 3 scorecards heading into this round as Judge Bill Kipp had Lyle ahead 49-43 on a 5-point must system, while Art Lurie had Lyle ahead 46-45, and Bill Mangiaracina had it 46-46), making the scorecards of the three judges academic and making Lyle's tv home appearance an unartistic success. The end came with 1:08 of the round, after a straight right hand drove the 33-year old ex-convict across the ring and left him defenseless against the champion's onslaught. Referee Ferd Hernandez stopped the bout. Lyle protested briefly, then staggered to his corner in a daze.

References

  1. ↑ "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "When right made might". Sports Illustrated. 26 May 1975. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. pp. 238–40.
  4. ↑ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. p. 303.


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