Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle

Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle

Date	May 16, 1975
Venue	Las Vegas Convention Centre, Las Vegas, Nevada
Title(s) on the line	WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Muhammad Ali Ron Lyle Nickname "The Greatest" Hometown Louisville, Kentucky Dayton, Ohio Pre-fight record 46–2 (33 KO) 30–2–1 (21 KO) Age 33 years, 3 months 34 years, 3 months Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (192 cm) Weight 224+1⁄2 lb (102 kg) 219 lb (99 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA, WBC and The Ring undisputed Heavyweight Champion WBA/WBC No. 3 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Ali won via 11th round TKO (1:08)

Muhammad Ali vs. Ron Lyle was a professional boxing match contested on May 16, 1975, for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Background

Lyle had offered the opportunity to compete for the title despite his loss to the then little-known Jimmy Young two months earlier at Honolulu, Hawaii.

This bout was aired live primetime in the United States via ABC with Howard Cosell doing the play-by-play and it took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight

Ali entered the bout at 224.5 pounds, the heaviest he had ever been at that point in his career. Lyle, at 219 pounds, was also at the heaviest weight of his career.

Ali had forecast that the bout would be a "treat for the people", but in many of the rounds he preferred to defend and absorb Lyle's sharp punches. The challenger had been exhorted by a chant of "Lyle, Lyle" from several Denver followers, and in the opening round he bloodied Ali's nose, although the bleeding abated.

Ali was jarred sporadically by Lyle's punches, usually the right hand. In the fifth, the champion chose to dance, taunting Lyle with jabs but often being pinned against the ropes. In the sixth, he displayed the "Ali Shuffle", to the delight of the crowd, and to the temporary confusion of the stiff-moving challenger.

As the ring girl from the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas strutted past Ali with a big card signaling the start of the eighth round, Ali stared, aware that this was the round in which he had predicted he would knock Lyle out. From his flatfooted stance, he tried for the knockout, but Lyle cornered and fought him off, particularly with a jarring right hand.

For the next two rounds, Ali rested, boxing defensively and retreating to the ropes while accepting Lyle's punches. But Ali stunned Lyle with a right hand early in the 11th round, and pounced on the challenger with a flurry of punches, driving the 33-year old challenger across the ring to make the judges scorecards academic (Ali was behind on 2 of the 3 scorecards heading into this round as Judge Bill Kipp had Lyle ahead 49–43 on a 5-point must system, while Art Lurie had Lyle ahead 46–45, and Bill Mangiaracina had it 46–46). Lyle was defenseless against the champion's onslaught, and Ali signaled Referee Ferd Hernandez to stop the fight, but Hernandez waited another nine brutal seconds before awarding Ali a technical knockout at 1:08 in the 11th round. Lyle protested briefly, then staggered to his corner in a daze.

Aftermath

Lyle's corner was not happy with the referee's decision to stop the bout.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Víctor Galíndez	Ray Elson	Light Heavyweight (12 rounds)	8th round TKO.
Larry Holmes	Ernie Smith	Heavyweight (8 rounds)	3rd round RTD.
Fred Houpe	John L Johnson	Heavyweight (4 rounds)	4th round TKO.

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Mexico	Televisa
Philippines	KBS 9
United Kingdom	BBC
United States	ABC