Welcome back to Boxing After Dark! Tonight, we take you back to 1975. Muhammad Ali is fresh off his victory against George Foreman, and every heavyweight is eager for a shot at the Greatest. But for now, Frazier, Norton, and Shavers will have to wait their turn. Tonight, it's Ron Lyle's chance. A former gang member with heavy hands and no fear, Lyle stands ready. It's up to Ali to prove the doubters wrong once again.
00:00That was the hardest I'd ever been hit in my life. Only certain guys can do that. Run loud with one guy who could hit you so hard it didn't hurt.
00:07You got into further trouble, didn't you, while you were in prison?
00:11Well, I got s**t, as you know, of course.
00:13What do you mean you got s**t? Don't throw it away like that.
00:16The year is 1975. Muhammad Ali is in the midst of his second career following his exile from America, all the way back to 1966.
00:27After some intense bouts that were undeniable classics, such as his first two wars with Joe Frazier, and the iconic Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman.
00:40But now comes a tough cookie with a rugged exterior and a fistful of dynamite.
00:45The quick-to-tire-but-quicker-to-bludgeon monster that is Ron Lyle.
00:50Good luck, 10, and down goes Williams.
00:52Intimidated the hell out of a lot of opponents.
00:55You just come in, growl, throw punches, and go home.
00:59A feared warrior who's turned pro at the late age of 28, with some already admirable victories against Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis, and Jimmy Ellis.
01:09Never, that's assault!
01:10And in round 8, you shall lead.
01:13I'm telling you now before the world, you will leave in the 8th round!
01:18Will the laughing storm that has Muhammad Ali be able to take Ronnie Lyle's heavy punishment and send him twisting and turning his way to the canvas?
01:27Or will Lyle finally be able to quiet the man whose voice could never be deprived and get Ali to eat his jibes along with his teeth?
01:36Muhammad Ali's fights in the mid-70s America have become national events akin to the Super Bowl, inauguration day, or the opening day of a Walmart in small suburban towns.
01:49You can look at me, I'm loaded with confidence.
01:51I can't beat me.
01:52I'd have had 180 amateur fights, 22 professional fights, and I'm as good as a girl.
01:55The guy I'll fight, he's in trouble.
01:59He can't win, but I'm going to blow him out of the head.
02:02This is something that I planned.
02:05Ron Lyle was a slow starter in professional boxing, having few pro fights and even fewer amateur, but for good reason.
02:12Dying twice on an operating table, getting stabbed, and spending many years in prison after taking part in a rival gang members meeting with the morgue in self-defense will typically alter your career path.
02:24I survived in the jungle.
02:27I'm still living.
02:28Guys around you getting stabbed every day for cigarettes.
02:31I've seen guys get blown out of their cells.
02:33I've seen guys get stabbed for no reason at all.
02:37Well, it was back in 61 when I first got involved in a gang fight, you know, and a guy was stabbed, and I was caught and convicted and manslaughter.
02:46Yes.
02:48Lyle was a stone-cold yet fully inspired fighter, and he had a lot to prove in the ring if he wanted
02:54to get a title shot, and as we can see, he was talented enough to eventually undertake a challenge against the greatest heavyweight of his era.
03:04While Muhammad Ali is often regarded as not only the greatest heavyweight of all time, but one of the greatest at fighting with words,
03:12many were excited to see what Ali had to say about the slow, shuffling, and humble Ron Lyle in the buildup to the fight.
03:19But you will see me tonight.
03:21Literally, take this man.
03:22He may win two or three rounds for the first five, but after five rounds, this man will power.
03:28He'll just be completely exhausted.
03:30Obviously, the champion enters tonight's fray shaken with a full loss of contact.
03:35Shaken?
03:36Fight night arrived on May 16th, 1975, and while Lyle attempts to instill some terror that men like Sonny Liston and George Foreman had achieved in years past with an ice-cold stare,
03:49Ali's giddiness to get his hands flowing freely is more of an effective scare tactic than any mean look could ever hope to be.
03:56The two men await the bell's ring, and the fight finally begins.
04:00Now, the bell for round one.
04:02The two men in the middle of the ring.
04:04I will not try to kill him, Lyle said in our pre-fight talk.
04:10Ali covering up.
04:11So far, Ali hasn't thrown any punch.
04:15Remember what Ali said.
04:16He might win three of the first five rounds, but he's got to go by the eighth.
04:21Only once was Ali heavier.
04:24Seems to be a little bit of blood out of Ali's nostrum.
04:29Now, Ali's corner is yelling, stick him, champ.
04:32Oh, a quick right by Ali.
04:39Ali with a right lead.
04:43The left foot in front of the right foot.
04:46Ali is talking to Lyle, torning him.
04:51Oh, a good quick left and right by Ali.
04:54His best close of the night.
04:56Lyle trying to fight back, coming in with a right.
04:58No question, Lyle has no fear of this man.
05:04After a better round from Ali in the second,
05:07Lyle comes out with a new sense of caution and focus
05:10as he works on Ali's slippery footwork and high guard
05:13by digging in hooks behind Muhammad's guard
05:16and keeping a consistent pace
05:17while trying not to tire his infamously inconsistent gas tank.
05:22You can't use the ropes.
05:24This is the way to fight for on Lyle.
05:26With movement, the chronic smoke,
05:29sticking as Ali just did with the left.
05:37This is Ali's best round by far of the night.
05:42Lyle's right, only glance.
05:45Sixth round action, quickly.
05:47Ali moving again, a little evidence of...
05:49Round six has Ali acting on his battle plan.
05:52After five rounds of letting Lyle have his way in the ring,
05:55Muhammad shows some of his signature pizzazz
05:58with flashy footwork and snappy jabs.
06:01Lyle struggles to keep up with the greatest's frenetic pace,
06:04but survives the round.
06:07Lyle got in a good right to Ali's head thing.
06:10I suppose in a purest boxing sense,
06:13it's an interesting process.
06:15Ali is now covering up as Lyle goes after.
06:19There's more of the Muhammad Ali-Ron Lyle World Heavyweight Championship fight
06:27that will cause for this first message from our local school.
06:35Now this is eighth round action,
06:38and this is the round Ali predicted he would do away with Lyle in.
06:43Now he's opening up, he's trying to.
06:46He's trying to get at Lyle.
06:48Tired of looking at the guy still coming at me.
06:51Ali is scoring much better though in this round.
06:57We're going to run this clock the whole round because of the prediction.
07:01Ali got to Lyle in.
07:03And Lyle's a ball of sweat.
07:10He is not going to knock Ron Lyle out as particularly.
07:14Ali is winning this round too.
07:17And the crowd knows it.
07:19They're reacting.
07:26Ali went after Lyle.
07:28He heard him in the eighth round.
07:29Ali's got a good left in there.
07:39We're approaching the end.
07:41Following three rounds of Ali magic,
07:43Lyle finally gets his head back in the game throughout the tenth
07:46while managing to busy Ali's nose early on in the fight.
07:50Ron has struggled to land anything substantial since.
07:53But while his crippling power hasn't been very well paraded in this fight,
07:57his heart has.
07:58And he's managed to make it ahead on the scorecards
08:01going into the second third of 15 rounds.
08:04Live from Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.
08:08Cut out a boys high school in Brooklyn.
08:10Hey, he heard Lyle.
08:12Ali cuts to Lyle.
08:13Lyle is in trouble.
08:14He heard him with a left.
08:16Lyle went back against the ropes.
08:18Eleventh round action.
08:19And Ali in command.
08:21He's staggering.
08:22This time Lyle is ready to go.
08:23Look at that.
08:24Bahamut Ali.
08:25This is Bahamut Ali from nowhere.
08:29The left cut to Lyle.
08:31Set him back against the ropes.
08:32Ali in total command.
08:34Being separated now.
08:36The fight is stopped by referee Bird Hernandez.
08:40Bahamut Ali successfully defended his title yet again
08:44against a tough-willed and highly skilled opponent
08:46who could see through some of Ali's most incredible tricks.
08:50Still, he faltered to the oldest in the book.
08:53The float like a butterfly and sting like a bee approaching.
08:56And Bahamut's resume is once again strengthened
08:59and continues to shape up to be the greatest in history.
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