I have trouble for some reason picturing Lyle forcing the kind of fight he had Foreman into. I don't think a prime Liston lets that happen.
I don't give Ron any shot here at all. Unlike George who's defence, offence, the whole bag was just not tight or disciplined, Sonny would ram that jab into Lyle every time he stood in front of him and eventually pound him down. I would expect Ron to get in several good left hooks and right hands, but other the shake Sonny it wouldn't stop the demolition.
Surprisingly, everyone now seem to acknowledge that Sonny Liston was not the all out destroyer type and in fact used good boxing skills in his fights. On the other hand, I think people tend to overlook Ron Lyle's ability as a boxer. He was the type of fighter who was content to box against boxers and go to war against those who threatened to knock him out. Examples of the former are the Ali and Bugner fights and of the later are the Shavers and Foreman fight. As regards a Liston-Lyle fight, I believe that Liston would use his huge jab, body feints and periodically punch it out with his opponent to keep Ron honest and under control. Liston would win either by a stoppage in one of the middle rounds or by a UD.
I'll go with the majority and make Liston a heavy favorite to take Lyle apart.. But, I don't think it has to be the one sided, easy lambasting that some are making it out to be.. Yes, Liston had an excellent combination of power, reach and boxing skills, but that doesn't necessarily spell instant doom for Lyle.. Ron rose off the canvas to beat a prime Shavers, gave Ali all he could handle for over 10 rounds, beat good boxers in Ellis and Bugner, plus traded life and death with Foreman. He was also bigger, stronger and more skilled than the average man who Liston destroyed, and make no mistake, he was a lot better than Cleveland Williams. Liston would still win this in my opinion, but guys like Jack Dempsey were right when they said that Sonny didn't like men who stood up to him, and Lyle is not just going to turn the other cheek..
Liston by borderline-debilitating beatdown. I just don't see what Lyle brings to the table that would ultimately stop Sonny from closing the distance behind his jab and having his way at the desired range. As has been said, he was more compact, disciplined and accurate than Foreman was.
Agreed, Liston will make great use of "The Cannon" is his thorough out-boxing and inevitable clinical execution of Lyle.
Why is that? I would classify Williams as a faster version of Ron Lyle. Lyle could not deal with boxers(lost wide decisions to young)..while Williams fared better against his boxers(Machen and Terrell). Sure, Lyle beat a "prime" shavers. But guess what, so did 20-24 bob stallings!
Yeah, I was going to post about that. williams was much faster then Lyle and he had much better conditioning. Plus Williams was taller and had a better knockout punch then Lyle. Lyle had more heart, and a better chin, but this would not pay off against Sonny, he would just be taking too many punches. I see Liston knocking Lyle out in 4 rounds after he feels Lyle out and eats a few right hands. Liston would take him apart and probably end it with a short left hook.