Ron Lyle /Mike Weaver/Hasim Rahman ?

BC, I would agree with you if you are going to take Lyle's end-of-career fights and judge him from that era. That would be like me saying, yeah, but Rahman got blown away by Povetkin in 2 rounds and then lost to a 3-2 fighter. But if you take the 1974 Lyle against the Rahman of the Lewis fight then you have apples to apples. And let me tell you, Lyle was a very bad man in that era. I followed Lyle from the Quarry fight and Rahman from the Obed Sullivan fight and there is no way Rahman is staying with Lyle. Lyle holds wins over Jimmy Ellis, Oscar Bonavena, Earnie Shavers, Joe Bugner, Buster Mathis, Boone Kirkman and Jose Luis Garcia. Rahman has wins over Lewis, Sanders and a 42 year old Berbick. You can throw in Al Cole and Monte Barrett if you like but it doesn't really enhance anything, does it? For a big man Rahman was good but his jaw just doesn't hold up against a Lyle.

 

That's a fair post, and I agree Lyle looked pretty good to me against Foreman.

I would however note that Lyle has KO losses himself and that Rahman has a higher KO % over a longer career. Could Lyle take Rahman's punches? Rahman was the heavier man (some would say maybe he was too muscular for his frame) and he had a 6 inch reach advantage over Lyle. That's fairly significant.

 

Truth be told, anything could happen in this series. Would probably favor Rahman at his best if I had to (certainly against Weaver--I need to rewatch some Lyle fights). But I wouldn't be at all surprised by any of them knocking the others out. Some intriguing matchups, stylistically.

 

Good points all-round, BC. And I will also mention that Rahman had pretty fair stamina for a big man. I do think it comes down to chin and I do think Lyle was a more lethal puncher.

 

I'd also say that Weaver himself at his best was a formidable dude, he's behind Rahman and Lyle but not hopelessly so.

 

They both knock out Rahman

 

Red cobra IM From the 1960s what happened to RING magazine and their great writers Fleischer,Dan DANIEL ,Nat lourbet,bromberg etc. THEY had some great articles RING DETECTIVE,results of every fight thru out the whole world ,I miss those days especially since I was a teenager.

 

I am giving the edge to Rahman to take this. He's the best boxer and can finish matters against either of these. Edge. Slight edge.

 

I think rahman could beat either of them but weaver had a little more heart and late round stamina than rahman. Could go either way. Lyle had the skill to win against either man as well since he could either brawl or box. Really hard to pick just one guy, but weaver is the weakest link (only slightly).

 

Sounds likely but Weaver might surprise Lyle .. If Mike got out early he'd take it ..

 

Interesting line-up, because they were all great competitors and pretty tough.
That said, I like Lyle for this, going 2-0, with it being a toss-up between Rahman and Weaver.

 

Prime Lyle by KO in 5, Rahman wasn't that hard to hit

 

Lyle

Weaver
Rahman

Lyle would batter Rahman and knock him out. Prime Rahman never once won a firefight against someone who could punch. Lewis was fat, out of shape, and totally careless when he got caught by Rahman. It wasn't that Rahman was doing great in that fight. He looked as pedestrian as he always does. ( a step above the Obed Sullivans of the world, but, embarrassingly behind the Oleg Maskaevs of the world) It is just that Lewis got caught clowning and paid the price. The rematch was the real indicator. And Lennox ANNIHILATED Rahman. There was no call for a rubber match, because it was quite clear Rahman just got lucky in the first fight.

 

This is a fairly competitive match up. I think each one goes 1-1 but can’t decide on the combination