In his autobiography, Earnie Shavers claims that Ron Lyle was given an extra minute's rest in between rounds after being floored by Shavers. Has this ever been confirmed by anyone? It was such a great fight. It would be a real shame if Earnie was robbed of a potential victory. If it isn't true, then what a great comeback by Lye...
There was a major difference. Shavers hit Lyle and then stepped back to admire his work. He could have landed another shot or two before Ron hit the ground, and he wouldn't have been able to get up. When Lyle had Earnie going, he kept swinging until Shavers was all the way down...
I watch the fight on youtube and did not notice an extra minute between rounds. Shavers dropped Lyle like a ton of bricks with beautiful left toward the end of the round. I remember folks saying that Lyle got a long count, but in watching the film i did not notice that either. Lyle was badly hurt, but the bell rang when he got up. If Shavers would have tagged him with the same punch earlier in the round Lyle would not have survived. Shavers faded later in the fight (as usual) and Lyle bombed him out.
