Lyle doesn't get the respect he deserves. Think about it. He had a career to be incredibly proud of. Man did a long stretch in prison. Very serious stabbing victim. Doesn't even turn pro til he's 29-30. Excellent career. How much differently could his career have been if he went into the sport as a youngster transitioning into a pro at a very good 6'4 220? No fat built similar to Liston IMO
Ron is the Rodney Dangerfield of boxing. Seriously though, an earlier start in the sport with better or even ideal life context otherwise would’ve likely seen an even better version. Ronnie was a smart guy with all the physical tools including elite power but I think he lacked some confidence at the upper level which can be significantly impairing.
His late start and lack of experience is a good argument for some of his inconsistent performances. How many fighters can say they stood toe to toe with Foreman and knocked him down hard or outboxed Ali before losing those fights?
He was an amazing man to overcome everything he did. He literally died on the operating table. He saved a COs life in a prison riot got Pardoned. The he went on to fight some of the greatest heavyweights of alltime. He gave a good account of himself most of the time. To answer your question i would say he had the size and athletic ability to be one of the great heavyweights.
I liked Lyle. He was a solid boxer-puncher, but an earlier pro start wouldn't have hurt (goes without saying, really). The firm grounding gained through youth and formative competition can't be underestimated. I think this would have almost certainly improved his results in his bigger fights. As it is, stealing a march in an effort to form a late-stage career left him more noted for his near-misses against Ali and Foreman - and for his starching of Shavers (a really underrated fight, IMO). Even so, competing in one of the best eras in heavyweight boxing history, he was top-5 for a large part of the '70s. All things considered, this is really no small feat in itself.
According to the recent biography of Jerry Quarry … who despised Lyle and defeated him easily … the only documentation of Lyle’s prison back story was his word.
Thats not true. His prison back story is well documented. If the authors of the Quarry book made that statement, or if Quarry did they were flat out wrong.
