Mills Lane

Mills Bee Lane III (born November 12, 1937)[1][2] is an American former boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada, District Court Judge, and television personality.

This article is about the boxing referee and television judge. For his uncle, an Atlanta bank executive from 1946 to 1973, see Mills Lane (banker).
Mills Lane
Statistics
Real nameMills Bee Lane III
Nickname(s)Judge Mills Lane
Weight(s)Welterweight
Born (1937-11-12) November 12, 1937
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Stancesouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights11
Wins10
Wins by KO6
Losses1

Lane is best known for having officiated several major heavyweight championship boxing matches in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and for starring in the syndicated court show Judge Mills Lane.[3] On June 9, 2013, Lane was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame[4] and was likewise inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame on August 10 of the same year.

Early life

Lane hails from a prominent Georgia family: his grandfather founded the largest bank in Georgia, and his uncle (and namesake) was the president of Citizens & Southern National Bank.[5]

After his graduation from Middlesex School, Lane joined the United States Marine Corps in 1956. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno, from which he graduated with a business degree in 1963. He then attended the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, graduating with the class of 1970.

Boxing career

Lane became a boxer while serving as a Marine, becoming the All-Far East welterweight champ. He was an NCAA boxing champion. He turned pro while in college, eventually earning a 10–1 record as a professional. In the US Olympic Trials in San Francisco for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Lane was defeated by Phil Baldwin in the boxing semifinals.[6]

In 1979, Lane became Chief Deputy Sheriff of Investigative Services at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. He was elected District Attorney in 1982 and District Judge in 1990.[3]

Boxing referee career
Further information: Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II

Lane refereed his first world championship boxing match in 1971, when Betulio González had a fifteen-round draw with Erbito Salavarria for the WBC flyweight title.[3]

Lane became a household name in the United States the night he refereed "The Bite Fight" rematch between world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and challenger Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997. Mitch Halpern was supposed to referee the fight, but Tyson's camp protested. So, Lane was brought in at the last minute. After Tyson bit Holyfield's ears twice, Lane disqualified him. Lane's shirt was stained with blood from the incident, and he sold it to a memorabilia collector on the same night.[7]

Less than three weeks later, Lane refereed the match between Lennox Lewis and Henry Akinwande. Just like Tyson vs. Holyfield, it ended in disqualification when Akinwande used illegal tactics, these being excessive clinching and ignoring Lane's repeated orders to stop.

After the fight between Thomas Hearns and Jay Snyder on November 6, 1998, Lane retired as a boxing referee.[8]

In 2013, Lane was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[9] On August 10, 2013, he was also inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

Television career

Lane presided over the court show, Judge Mills Lane. The court show lasted for three seasons, from 1998 to 2001.[3] In addition to this show, the producers of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch approached him about having his character and voice used in their show as the referee of their plasticine figure matches.[3] Lane accepted the offer and became an MTV personality. As a referee, Lane started boxing matches by declaring "Let's get it on!", which became his catchphrase. This was reproduced in Celebrity Deathmatch as his character would shout the same phrase to initiate fights.[3]

Lane made an appearance on the November 16th, 1998 episode of WWE Raw. He appeared on the titantron and made a ruling in regards to a contract dispute between Steve Austin and the McMahon family.[10]

Lane guest voiced on an episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, in which he played a judge.

Later life and legacy

Lane titled his autobiography Let's Get It On: Tough Talk from Boxing's Top Ref and Nevada's Most Outspoken Judge.[11]

Lane suffered a debilitating stroke in March 2002, which left him partially paralyzed and virtually unable to speak.[8] With his blessing, this led to his Celebrity Deathmatch alter-ego being voiced by Chris Edgerly (who played Nick Diamond) for the MTV2 revival.

Lane's adopted city of Reno proclaimed December 27, 2004, as “Mills Lane Day'”. In May 2006, Lane made his first public appearance in years at the dedication of a new courthouse in Reno which is named after him.[9] The Mills B. Lane Justice Center houses the Reno Municipal Court and the Washoe County District Attorney's Office.[12]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
11 fights 10 wins 1 loss
By knockout 6 1
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
11 Win 10–1 Buddy Knox UD 6 May 9, 1967 Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada
10 Win 9–1 David Camacho UD 10 Feb 28, 1963 Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada
9 Win 8–1 Al Walker UD 6 Jan 31, 1963 Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada
8 Win 7–1 Larry Sanchez KO 2 (6), 1:04 Dec 12, 1962 Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada
7 Win 6–1 Artie Cox KO 3 (8), 0:43 August 7, 1962 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
6 Win 5–1 Al Carroll TKO 5 (8), 3:00 July 17, 1962 State Building, Reno, Nevada
5 Win 4–1 Dick Smith PTS 6 June 26, 1962 Sacramento, California
4 Win 3–1 Marva Hawkins KO 6 (6) June 12, 1962 Sacramento, California
3 Win 2–1 Sonny King TKO 1 (6), 2:10 May 27, 1962 Wagon Wheel Convention Center, Stateline, Nevada
2 Win 1–1 Carlos Loya UD 10 May 10, 1962 State Building, Reno, Nevada
1 Loss 0–1 Artie Cox TKO 1 (4), 0:35 April 7, 1961 State Building, Reno, Nevada Lane's professional debut.

References
  1. "Mills Lane III - Reno, Nevada". Familytreenow.com. 1987-04-29. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  2. "Happy 77th Mills Lane ... and other Nevada tidbits". Rgj.com. 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2009). Encyclopedia of television law shows: factual and fictional series about judges, lawyers and the courtroom, 1948-2008. McFarland. pp. 147–48. ISBN 978-0-7864-3828-0.
  4. "Lane inducted into Boxing Hall of Fame". ESPN. June 11, 2013.
  5. "Mills B. Lane Dies; A Banker 64 Years". The New York Times. 1945. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  6. Moe, Doug (2005). Lords of the Ring: The Triumph and Tragedy of College Boxing's Greatest Team. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-299-20424-2.
  7. Sugar, Bert Randolph (2003). Bert Sugar on Boxing: The Best of the Sport's Most Notable Writer. Globe Pequot. pp. 247–49. ISBN 978-1-59228-048-3.
  8. Carp, Steve (2008). "Stroke victim Mills Lane, family cope". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  9. Fitzgerald, Mike; Morley, Patrick (February 28, 2013). Third Man in the Ring: 33 of Boxing's Best Referees and Their Stories. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-61234-242-9.
  10. "WWF Raw--November 16, 1998". www.pwwew.net. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  11. Lane, Mills; Jedwin Smith (1998). Let's get it on: tough talk from boxing's top ref and Nevada's most outspoken judge. Crown. ISBN 978-0-609-60311-6.
  12. "Justice Center | City of Reno". www.reno.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
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