This is some rare and fascinating interview footage, I found on youtube, posted by tintinesk2 : [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zic9VoMrOkI&feature=related[/ame]
Good post, Lyle spoke from his heart and did so with eloquence. Can't recall the circumstances of the fight?
Appears Lyle was leading in the fight when Ref stopped it in the 11th with Lyle on the ropes in a corner. time: 1:08 | referee: Ferd Hernandez | judge: Bill Kipp 49-43 | judge: Art Lurie 46-45 | judge: John Mangriciana 46-46 ~ ~ WBC heavyweight title ~ ~ WBA World heavyweight title
I think the stoppage of the fight was completely right. The right hand Ali hit Lyle with was a very good punch and had Lyle out on his feet. It was actually a better punch than anything Foreman hit Lyle with, a sharp hard punch, a snappy explosive punch. Interesting to hear Dundee talking about Ali being "super heavyweight". Ali really was a big big guy. Funny, because when he started out some people thought he was just a "blown-up light-heavyweight".
A lot of Ali's fights were stopped quick but I think this one was fair...Lyle got hurt badly vs Quarry but they let it go on.
From listening to Lyle in this clip you feel sorry for him. He put so much into that fight and was ahead on the scorecards. I didn't see the stoppage, but it sounds a bit controversial. Around this time Ali was known to have received a few 'gift' decisions, most notably against Norton. In the video 'Champions Forever' Norton basically said that the boxing authorities wanted to keep Ali on top, because if Ali was beaten, the sport of boxing would suffer. It's a pity that the likes of Lyle and Norton (Maybe even Shavers)didn't get a fair shake in their fights with Ali.
Lyle fought Jimmy Young, Ali, Shavers & Foreman in succession. The Jimmy Young fight was 3 months before the Ali fight, and Young easily outclassed him. (Young beat Lyle again 18 months later). Ali probably thought that since Young easily beat Lyle, then he could too. The Lyle-Ali fight may have been some of the first signs Ali was beginning to slip.
