BoxRec

Quickie Quiz:

Name the heralded ring brawl that took place an astounding 40 YEARS AGO TODAY.
(No fair Googling it---only a lame modern-era fan would need to cheat)

Hint:
It's considered by many to be one of the greatest, most exciting major heavyweight bouts in ring annals.
Obviously it's not Fury-Klitschko.

Brian Kenny would have undoubtedly tagged it "caveman stuff."

An amazing back-and-forth, no-holds barred brawl that saw two exhausted warriors lay it all on the line and didn't end until one finally crumbled to the canvas and was counted out.

Share your memories of this nationally-televised war that is still a yardstick for boxing greatness.

Sounds like foreman/Lyle.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Sounds like foreman/Lyle.

Yep

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Sounds like foreman/Lyle.

You're the undisputed winner.

The bout was Ring Magazine's 1976 Fight of the Year, and might have well have been the Fight of the Decade if it was a championship bout.

It was Foreman's first legitimate bout since his 1974 Bungle in the Jungle (he had fought several exhibitions including the infamous Five Man Circus in Toronto) and Lyle was coming off a KO of Earnie Shavers following a KO loss to Ali.

As i recall, Foreman was a 3-1 favorite, but hardly looked the part when he was staggered in the first round, and then sent to the canvas by a series of left and rights to start the unforgettable 4th round.

But within a minute, Foreman clubbed Lyle to mat with his own assortment of wild, wide lefts and rights, and the war was on.

Lyle looked like he was out on his feet and ready to go until just second before the round ended. He connected with 2 right uppercuts and then a sweeping right hand that put Foreman face down on the canvas.

But there would be no repeat of Zaire. Foreman struggled up by the 6 count and went back to his corner where he was greeted by frantic trainer Gil Clancy.

The two mauled each other to start the 5th round until Lyle connected with several rights, putting Foreman in serious trouble again.

Somehow, Foreman kept his feet under a furious Lyle assault.

Unable to finish off the weary Foreman, Lyle suddenly appeared out of gas himself, and backed away, briefly holding the ropes for support.

After Lyle somehow displayed the toughness to stagger Foreman again, the Denver fighter dropped his hands when the former champ unleashed a series of jabs that drove Lyle into the ropes.

He skidded rubber-legged into the corner where Foreman let go maybe 20 unanswered punched to Lyle's head. He bent in half under the blows and finally plummeted face first to the canvas.

Showing his own grit, Lyle attempted to rise, barely getting to one knee before he was counted out. He then collapsed and rolled over on his back.

The winner by a 5th round KO was George Foreman.

If it was a movie, you would chuckle and dismiss it, saying fights like that don't really happen in boxing.

It happened, and while it may have been devoid of pure skill and technique, it ranks as the best damn fights I've ever seen.

SenorPipino wrote:
If it was a movie, you would chuckle and dismiss it, saying fights like that don't really happen in boxing.

.

Just before you got to this point I wondered if you were reading a rocky script from the 80s