https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/lyle-vs-frazier.527083/ I saw this thread now and a surprising amount of people said Lyle, maybe the passage of time has changed this, Who you going with now? Who wins this matchup?
I’m going with Joe Frazier. I think his skill and work rate would wear Lyle down to a stoppage in similar fashion to the Buster Mathis fight.
^ This is the best answer, IMHO. And it wouldn't surprise me for that bump to have Frazier hitting the canvas and then getting up to win the fight. Frazier was as tough as they come!
Anytime up to and including Manila it's definitely Frazier for me. Post Manila I give Lyle a very good chance
Why does this surprise you? Folks here have claimed Kimbo Slice could beat James J Corbett for **** sake LOL.
I can see Frazier wearing him down over the course of the fight. But terrible match up for Frazier…I think at his best Frazier gets up from the inevitable knock downs to beat up Lyle over the long haul.
Frazier would suffer a kd and at least one more close call. But Lyle would be mowed over sometime after the 6th round.
Much like Cleveland williams and David Tua the next time Lyle beats a great fighter will be the first time. Fortunately for these 3 guys and others there is bizzaro world with hypothetical matchups, where they can accomplish things that they were not capable of in real life.
I think that Joe Frazier prior to Fight Of The Century wears down a very heavy handed Ron Lyle, stopping Lyle in round 11, that version of Frazier could steam roll his opponents, wearing them down with heavy left hook to the body and head.
I pick Frazier to win but Lyle was no slouch and has decent wins and was highly competitive against the best. More so then Williams and Tua imo.
Funny thing is both Williams and Tua were both higher rated at their peaks and beat more contenders. Williams was by far the best against boxers but Tua was probably better than both H2H.