I only just watched the Foreman-Lyle fight this week. I'm pretty annoyed I didn't get round to it earlier- quality bout! Really made me depressed about the current heavyweight scene, after watching Wlad's last two comatose encounters. It got me thinking though: how good was Ron Lyle?? He definitely was pretty close to beating big George at one point. Was Lyle one of the best heavyweights ever that never won a world title? Are there any guys fitting this description who were significantly better than Lyle, other than Sam Langford??
Cant help here pac, Ive only ever seen Lyle fight big George & Muhammad Ali. He was doing ok vs Ali, Ali was trying the rope-a-dope & Lyle wasnt falling for it, picking his shots well, he had a slight lead over Ali going into the 11th rd before Ali caught him with a big right, then finished him on his feet with pin point punches, Lyle was gone & it was a good call by the ref as Ali smelled blood. I heard Lyle KOd Shavers in the battle of the big hitters so all in all, he was 1 of the best HWTs of the golden era but not close to being thee best is my view from the little knowledge I have of Lyle.
Lyle was good. He was a big strong guy with power and very solid boxing skills and jab. That's a dangerous combination to have, he did nearly take out Foreman but keep in mind that wasn't the Foreman that killed Frazier and Norton. Foreman still had power, but he wasn't close to the same wrecking ball. Against Shavers, it was an all out slugfest. Shavers nearly took him out early, but Lyle was able to survive and when Shavers tired a little, Lyle finished him off. Lyle was probably one of the best fighters to not win the title, someone with his physical gifts and skill would be a handful for anyone.
