Norton vs. Lyle

Cooney more or less ended the Lyle fight with bodyshots, broke his ribs if I'm remembering correctly.

Hmm.

 

I'd take Norton's better jab and boxing skill to win him a UD here. I'm sure some will say Lyle by KO, but Lyle wasnt a massive puncher and Norton didnt crumble against ever adequate puncher he faced otherwise he wouldnt arguably be 5-0 against Ali, Holmes and Quarry

 

I like Norton here. Better fighter in nearly every department, and Lyle isn't a fearsome enough puncher to blast him out ala Foreman/Shavers.

 

Barring Lyle wiping Norton out early (Lyle was a solid hitter but not a MASSIVE puncher IMO) I think Norton wins a UD in a very competitive contest where Lyle lands the harder shots but Norton wins on mixing up his approach.

 

Norton, and by a wider margin than most would think. Different class of fighter, I feel like Norton could handle Lyle.

 

That's right. Prime for prime,imo,it would have been a 50/50 one.

 

Norton by fairly wide decision. As has been said,Lyle was a solid puncher,not a heavy one.

 

Don't underestimate Lyle's power. Look what happened in the Foreman bout. Norton didn't have as strong a set of whiskers as George did. If Lyle clipped him the way he did Foreman, I am not so sure that that Norton would survive. I really don't recall George Foreman ever being on the floor only against Lyle and Ali in Zaire. So Ron Lyle must have had some power in his punches.

 

Foreman was terrible against Lyle. I think that that version of Foreman would struggle against just about any top ten fighter, his confidence was completely shot.

If Lyle had such a big punch he would of got the chinny Shavers out of there a lot earlier.

 

Norton was a good fighter except when he had to back up, he could not fight that way and it was proven over every puncher he faced except a drug and alcohal wasted Jerry Quarry who admitted he was spent and did not train for the fight. Jerry's 2nd wife was a party girl and got him into it late in life. Still I think Lyle was overated as a puncher but still hit harder than 180lb Jose Louis Garcia who KO'd a young Ken and a Scott ledoux who had an older Ken down 2 times but when Ken was backed up, it was always a matter of time, Foreman,Shavers,Cooney,Garcia,....I think Ken had the better skill but Lyle did apply pressure and may be the wrong style for him...I really think this fight boils down to how much pressure Lyle can put on Ken..If he applys it and wants it he stops Ken. If Ken keeps his distance and keeps Lyle at bay, he wins a UD

 

Does Lyle hit harder than both Holmes and Ali? They aren't the most brutal punchers but they are accurate and a bit underrated, hardly Malignaggi types

 

I think yes, but his accuracy and punching skill is way behind.

Good match, i don't think Lyle has the early aggression, sheer skill or effective pressure to get Norton.

But really, lets check the scheduled programme here.

Was Norton really that susceptible to the early KO?

This topic deserves a thread of it's own.