Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle
| Org. | Pos. | As of | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| WBC | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ring | 3 | 02.1974 | by 25.02.1975 |
| 2+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| WBC | 3 | 31.12.1974 | 21.01.1975 |
| Ring | 3 | 01.1975 | by 17.01.1975 |
| 3+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| WBC | 3 | 30.11.1974 | by 06.12.1974 |
| Ring | 3 | 11.1975 | by 07.12.1974 |
Muhammad Ali 224 lbs beat Ron Lyle 219 lbs by TKO at 1:08 in round 11 of 15
- Date: 1975-05-16
- Location: Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Referee: Ferd Hernandez
- Judge: Art Lurie 45-46
- Judge: Bill Kipp 43-49
- Judge: John Mangriciana 46-46
- World Boxing Council Heavyweight Title (2nd defense by Ali)
- World Boxing Association Heavyweight Title (2nd defense by Ali)
- Photo 2, Photo 3
Notes
Timeline
- On December 10, boxing insiders reported that Ali was negotiating a fight with Lyle for March 3 at Madison Square Garden.[1]. This was confirmed on December 16 by Mike Hayes, president of the Denver Boxing Club. Ali was offered $2 million in cash.[2]
- On December 19, Reuters got a scoop from a source associated with Lyle that the fight was planned to take place in March or April either at MSG, in Denver or "undetermined country in the Persian Gulf".[3]
- Ultimately both sides agreed on MSG and March 24. Contracts were expected to be signed on January 7 in New York. However, promoter John Daly failed to show up to a dinner with Don King where the two would iron out some details of the deal. King, feeling insulted and having received an offer from Ali's manager Herbert Muhammad on the Wepner fight, withdrew from the deal. At the same time, Muhammad stated that he would renew negotiations if Ali did not receive $1.625 million promised to him for the Wepner fight by January 20.[4][5][6]
- Negotiations for the Lyle fight were reportedly still underway as of February 11, with the bout being proposed for June this time; however, Lyle's upset loss to Jimmy Young was considered a setback.[7] Don King was also sceptical about the fight's future: "Imagine an unknown guy like Young whipping Lyle. And the Garder was willing to shell out $2.5 million to Lyle for the Ali fight".[8]
- On April 2, Associated Press learned that Ali finalized the agreement for the Lyle fight. Herbert Muhammad confirmed this the next day, stating that "the fight is on, the money is up", while Lyle's manager Irwin Rosee stated that "the terms are agreeable and we will sign a contract."[9] [10][11] By April 6, the deal was signed.[12]
Ranking Movements
- Lyle ranked third by the WBC since at least October 11, 1974 and by The Ring Magazine since at least November 1974.
- On February 11, 1975 Lyle suffered an upset loss to then-unranked Jimmy Young.
- In the Ring Magazine rankings published by March 15, Lyle was dropped to eighth, while Young himself was placed seventh.
- In WBC's March rankings published early April, Lyle was dropped to seventh but still kept two spots above Young, who was moved to ninth.
The Fight
- Bout drew a 27.8 rating, far below Super Bowl (42.4) and World Series (39.8) but way ahead of Monday Night Football (19-21) and Kentucky Derby (18.9)
From Sports Illustrated:
The "rope-a-dope" strategy did not work and the "mirage" approach failed, so Muhammad Ali, surely the most versatile heavyweight fighter of all time, went back to proven stuff. He began to float like a 224½-pound butterfly and sting like a bee and he reduced Ron Lyle to a defenseless hulk after one minute and eight seconds of the 11th round in their championship fight last week in Las Vegas.
During the course of the first 10 rounds, Ali encapsulated almost his entire career. He lay on the ropes and tried to lure Lyle—no dope—into flailing himself arm-weary. But Lyle only pecked away or moved back to the center of the ring. Rope-a-dope had worked against George Foreman in Zaire; it is doubtful that the technique will ever work again against an Ali opponent.
The mirage style of boxing is faintly reminiscent of Floyd Patterson's peekaboo: Ali goes to the middle of the ring, holding his hands up, palms together as if in supplication. He gets thwacked smartly about the gloves and arms while peering out at his opponent. Supposedly, this tires the opponent. But it only seemed to encourage Lyle, who ripped a right uppercut through the gloves in the ninth round to give Ali a black eye.
When not using these tactics, Ali stood flat-footed, hands at his sides, and evaded Lyle's punches by moving his head. Most of Lyle's punches, that is. Ali did so little in the first six rounds that he was behind on everyone's scorecard but his own. In the seventh round, he grew bored with his inventions and began to float and sting. And despite being stung himself by a good, ponderous right hand, he took advantage of a grievous Lyle failing.
Lyle does not have fast hands or feet and he has a deplorable habit of dropping his left hand after he jabs. And almost every time he dropped the left, Ali hit him solidly with a right hand. In the eighth, the round selected by Ali as the one in which he would knock his man out, he hit Lyle with a dozen rights over the laggard left, but none of the blows was quite strong enough to fulfill the prediction.
In the ninth and 10th rounds, the champion was content to demonstrate some vintage Ali, dancing, making Lyle miss, flicking out a left hand that is quick as a snake's tongue, not throwing his right, perhaps lulling Lyle into a sense of security.
Early in the 11th, Lyle started a left jab but Ali beat him to it with his own left. Then he smashed Lyle square on the point of the jaw with a thunderous right that sent the challenger reeling into the ropes. Until this explosion, Ali had looked like a man playing tedious games with a boy; now, suddenly, he became deadly serious, battering Lyle along the ropes, across the ring and into a neutral corner. Lyle was overpowered, unable to block the incoming punches, and Ali turned to Referee Ferd Hernandez and motioned for him to stop the fight. The referee refused, so Ali hit Lyle with a lightning left-right-left to the head, then stepped back again and waved to Hernandez. This time, wisely, the referee stopped it. [13]
| Preceded by: Ali vs. Wepner |
WBA Heavyweight Title Fight # 21 |
Succeeded by: Ali vs. Bugner II |
| Preceded by: Ali vs. Wepner |
WBC Heavyweight Title Fight # 22 |
Succeeded by: Ali vs. Bugner II |