Ken Norton vs Ron Lyle in 1975 - who would have won?

Ron Lyle by KO in 8. I don't think norton could ever beat a great puncher and ron Lyle was a massive puncher in the 70s. Lyle almost stopped foreman too. I'll take Lyle.

 

Lyle would win on mid-round stoppage, but don't count out Norton.

 

Lyle would ko Norton in less than5 rounds..and the process would begin as soon as Lyle backed Norton up and hurt him...and then the old "oh ****..he's a puncher" syndrome would kick in and Lyle woul.d take Kenny apart. Remember that final right that Lyle blasted Shaver's noggin with? Tell me that something like that wouldn't do the trick against Norton..who was marvelous against light-hitting boxers but fell apart against an apex puncher. Lyle was a mean dude.

 

If fought in Denver....before Lyle's home crowd..... I go with Lyle in
6 by TKO...though the score cards will be close.

 

I can't really figure Norton's chin out. He took some really good shots from Ali and Holmes without breaking his stride, and while neither of them was a huge puncher they sure got a man's attention when they landed clean. Ali managed to back up guys like Liston, Bonavena, Lyle and Foreman, but never Norton. The same Norton that was treated as a doormat by Foreman, Shavers and Cooney.

Sure, they were huge punchers, but they way he just crumbled must point to something psychological as well. Futch said he always froze against the big punchers and I think he was on to something. Lyle was not quite in that division as a puncher, but he carried himself with the that kind of monster puncher menace and that could just have been enough.

 

Depends on how Norton handles Lyle's power. It's really impossible to say without knowing because as we know, Norton could be incredibly inconsistent. He looked like he had a cast-iron chin against Ali and Holmes but was made to look like a glass jaw against Shavers and Foreman.

I don't think Lyle is quite on the level of Shavers or Foreman as a puncher, but he hit harder than Ali and Holmes.

Actually Bokaj put it very well. I agree. Could be that Lyle can intimidate Norton but Norton I think was a better boxer and athlete. His combination punching tends to get overlooked.

 

Lyle tended to play counter puncher against aggressive fighters, he wasn't a bull like Shavers, Foreman, and Cooney that would back the swarming Norton up immediately. I think there is room for Ken to impose his fight on Lyle and stop him late when he tires. ​

 

Very true but Lyle was a decent counter puncher and could very well catch Norton with a big punch. To me it depends on how Norton would be able to take it. I wouldn't expect an early onslaught by Lyle because that wasn't really his style.

 

Leroy Caldwell said that Lyle's power was comparable to Foreman's, while Big George for his part says, when pressed, that Ron hit the hardest of anybody he ever faced. Kenny gets killed again.

Norton was in great shape for his first title shot at Foreman, and he claimed to be in top condition for the crucial comeback bid against Shavers. That didn't help him either time. Lyle had monstrous power in both hands, and Ken didn't have the defensive skill to avoid getting tagged quickly.

 

Ali, Holmes and even Quarry weren't in the same league, of course, as Lyle, Foreman, Cooney, and Shavers as far as punching power is concerned (we all know that)...the punches Ken took from Ali and Holmes, and what punches he took from a fat, shot Quarry were good, and it's commendable that Norton took them so well. The rap on Norton, as everybody knows so well, was that a really big hitter...and Ron Lyle was a really big hitter...not a polished boxer as was demonstrated many times..and with Norton not being a fleet of foot boxer, defensive whiz or having that great a chin, meant that he wasn't going to be able to take the measure of Lyle like Ali and Young did. and he wasn't the puncher that Foreman was, so he wasn't going to break Lyle by ko like Foreman did..and if Lyle was able to put Foreman down, I'm sure his punches would have found Norton's chin to be far less resilient than big George's was.
Jerry Quarry was sufficiently mobile, fast and clever enough to beat Lyle, and he also had a better chin than Norton's, and didn't cave in against big punchers, as he also proved against Shavers. So the old formula "a big puncher ko's Ken Norton" may not have been true at all times throughout Kenny's career, but it seemed to be the truth when you examine the results when he fought the star big hitters of his day. Ken's relative immobility and deficit in footwork..as Cosell would say "he dragged that right foot in a bucket"..seems to be, as much as his chin, to be the real Achilles Heel of Ken Norton vs the big hitters.

 

In early December 1976 it was announced that Norton and Lyle would fight in February 1977. Lyle was stepping in for Duane Bobick, as it looked like the upcoming Norton-Bobick fight would be shelved in favor of Duane getting a shot at Muhammad Ali.

My pick is Norton by unanimous decision.

 

Solid points. But Norton also seemed to be intimidated and freeze vs punchers. Lyle was an X convict type. Would this create early nerves for Norton? Maybe. I think Lyle had trouble with good boxer types. If a decision is rendered, I'll go with Norton. If a KO happens, I'd pick Lyle.

Good match up.

 

Norton wasn't mobile enough or defensiely proficient enough to outbox Lyle.