Jack handily ragdolls Lyle under the old rules, however Lyle was able to box somewhat formidably against ‘75 Ali who had a better outside game than Johnson even at that stage. It would be close Lyle’s rules and Johnson can’t be counted out there either.
This "Lyle outboxed Ali" narrative is a myth that simply won't die. Ali was in the worst shape his career up, and the heaviest he'd been up to his career in that point with two exceptions. Ali was doing next to nothing so Lyle was up on account of being the (marginally) busier fighter. Not because he was outboxing Ali, or had him in any remote trouble.
