Ron Lyle-Gregorio Peralta November 1973
Posted: 23 Jun 2013, 02:29
I had always been curious about this fight. It stood out on Lyle's record as something of another blemish, after Lyle had been exposed to a degree by Quarry. There was limited coverage in the press of the fight and Lyle came back stating that it was a robbery and that he won 7 of the 10 rounds. In his biography Ron stated that prior to the decision Peralta crossed the ring and raised Lyle's hand in victory and that when the decision was announced the arena erupted in one large "boo." This last comment seemed strange to me as they dont "boo" in Germany they whistle. Well, I finally got ahold of the fight and here are my thoughts:
The fight started out sloppy with Lyle looking like he was phoning in his performance and Peralta looking energetic but awkward. I had the first two rounds even. As the fight progressed I really started to appreciate what Peralta was doing. He was fighting a very gutsy fight. He would dance around the ring, pot-shotting Lyle, and whenver Lyle would corner him he would really throw some hard shots to get Lyle's respect. Then he would dance out of trouble or tie Lyle up. You can really see how smart Peralta is, how tough, and how he is utilizing his experience. He landed a lot of really good punches but Lyle seemed so much bigger than him and was uneffected by what Peralta hit him with. I gave Peralta the third, Lyle took a very close fourth, and Peralta took the fifth and sixth clearly. Lyle would continually plod after Peralta, looking to corner him and land a big punch but remarkably when Lyle was able to land his punches had little or no effect on Peralta. In fact the only reason I had the second round even was because at the very end of the round Lyle momentarily stunned Peralta.
Two things happened in the sixth which really altered the course of the bout. Both fighters began to tire, as they did so Peralta became less accurate with his punches, and sloppy. Lyle on the other hand began to box. He would move in on Peralta and then when Peralta would look to launch his flurry Lyle would back off, forcing Peralta to come to him. By doing this Lyle had a lot more success and took the seventh, eighth, and a ninth round that could have been even as both fighters slowed and looked to be saving up for the final round. In the final round Peralta picked up the pace again and really tried to take the fight to Lyle who continued to try to lure him in, back up, and then pot shot him on the back foot. It was another very close round.
I personally have no problem with a draw. The fight could have easily been 3 rounds to Lyle, 3 to Peralta, and 4 a draw. At the very best I could see giving Lyle six rounds to three with one even but you would really have to be generous to give Lyle some of those rounds. If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a winner Id say Lyle by one or at best two rounds but a draw seems like the right decision. Lyle never really seemed to impose his will on Peralta, and while Peralta seemed to be fighting "his fight" Lyle just seemed too big and too strong for him to beat over 10 rounds. The draw probably hurts Lyle more as he was on his way up and Peralta was, by this point, a very ringworn 39 year old who as it turned out was fighting his last fight, but thats what happens when you take on a fight like this and dont show any fire.
Two more points: Contrary to what Lyle said in his bio it was actually Lyle who crossed the ring and raised Peralta's hand (which looked to be more a sign of respect for a good performance than an admission of losing). And finally, when the decision was announced there was a mingling of whistles but it wasnt the loud demonstration that Lyle mentions and it was over as quickly as it started. There really didnt seem to be much controversy. A very interesting fight.
The fight started out sloppy with Lyle looking like he was phoning in his performance and Peralta looking energetic but awkward. I had the first two rounds even. As the fight progressed I really started to appreciate what Peralta was doing. He was fighting a very gutsy fight. He would dance around the ring, pot-shotting Lyle, and whenver Lyle would corner him he would really throw some hard shots to get Lyle's respect. Then he would dance out of trouble or tie Lyle up. You can really see how smart Peralta is, how tough, and how he is utilizing his experience. He landed a lot of really good punches but Lyle seemed so much bigger than him and was uneffected by what Peralta hit him with. I gave Peralta the third, Lyle took a very close fourth, and Peralta took the fifth and sixth clearly. Lyle would continually plod after Peralta, looking to corner him and land a big punch but remarkably when Lyle was able to land his punches had little or no effect on Peralta. In fact the only reason I had the second round even was because at the very end of the round Lyle momentarily stunned Peralta.
Two things happened in the sixth which really altered the course of the bout. Both fighters began to tire, as they did so Peralta became less accurate with his punches, and sloppy. Lyle on the other hand began to box. He would move in on Peralta and then when Peralta would look to launch his flurry Lyle would back off, forcing Peralta to come to him. By doing this Lyle had a lot more success and took the seventh, eighth, and a ninth round that could have been even as both fighters slowed and looked to be saving up for the final round. In the final round Peralta picked up the pace again and really tried to take the fight to Lyle who continued to try to lure him in, back up, and then pot shot him on the back foot. It was another very close round.
I personally have no problem with a draw. The fight could have easily been 3 rounds to Lyle, 3 to Peralta, and 4 a draw. At the very best I could see giving Lyle six rounds to three with one even but you would really have to be generous to give Lyle some of those rounds. If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a winner Id say Lyle by one or at best two rounds but a draw seems like the right decision. Lyle never really seemed to impose his will on Peralta, and while Peralta seemed to be fighting "his fight" Lyle just seemed too big and too strong for him to beat over 10 rounds. The draw probably hurts Lyle more as he was on his way up and Peralta was, by this point, a very ringworn 39 year old who as it turned out was fighting his last fight, but thats what happens when you take on a fight like this and dont show any fire.
Two more points: Contrary to what Lyle said in his bio it was actually Lyle who crossed the ring and raised Peralta's hand (which looked to be more a sign of respect for a good performance than an admission of losing). And finally, when the decision was announced there was a mingling of whistles but it wasnt the loud demonstration that Lyle mentions and it was over as quickly as it started. There really didnt seem to be much controversy. A very interesting fight.
