Sonny Liston vs Ron Lyle, both prime. I know many were impressed by Ron's decking of an ego deflated post Zaire George Foreman but remember Liston did have a pretty decent chin and had a hard long left jab. Both spent time in the penal institution.
I don't think Liston would try to get into a punch out. He would outbox Lyle and stop him mid to late rounds. Liston would get his jab working early on. However, Lyle could come out trying to jump on Liston in which case Liston might have to pull out all the stops pretty early. In either case, Lyle goes out on his shield. Lyle is fearless and tough and gives it his best shot, but the Liston train rolls on.
Liston by knockout without drama. Lyle wasn't really able to do much with ranked guys. Guys that were fighting well enough to be top ten types generally beat him and when they didn't they made the distance. There are very few circumstances where I can imagine Lyle winning this fight. Probably see Liston-Clarke.
So true McGrain, Ron Lyle just got lucky with a deflated post Zaire George Foreman on Jan 24 1976, George had recently hired Gil Clancy as his trainer, who tried to turn Foreman into a boxer, Foreman is not a boxer, he lacked stamina if he was dragged into the later rounds by his opponents, he would gas out.
I agree with your assessment. Sonny, with the skills and boxing IQ in support, is multi optioned in terms of the strategy he chooses but unless Lyle himself ramps it up, Sonny would opt to methodically outbox and break Lyle down for a mid to 3/4 round KO or stoppage. Smart. Much less likely, if Lyle came out looking to slug, Sonny can well accomodate him, some fireworks for maybe 2-3 rounds before Liston prevails by a KO. I say unlikely because Lyle needs the other guy to ramp it up before Ronnie himself returns in kind - Sonny isn’t going to slug with Ron if it’s not necessary - and I don’t thunk it will be necessary.
It's ****ing crazy! In the Lyle-Williams thread, people were calling Williams a myth while praising Lyle while Williams has more wins over ranked contenders, and made it higher into the ratings, despite his prime being cut short. He also wasn't laughably outclassed by the slickster of his era the number 2 rated Machen unlike Lyle who was shut out by an unrated Young (not sure what Young's ranking was, if any in the rematch).
If I am not mistaken, I believe it was number #3. I saw the bout between Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young live on ABC's Wide World Of Sports. Young did outclass Lyle.
