“Couldn’t believe it,” George Foreman discloses the hardest ever punch he got hit with in his glorious career
George foreman vs Ron lyle is considered of the greatest boxing matches in the history of the sports.
Follow Us
Ron Lyle vs George Foreman (Image Courtesy: Youtube)
Ron Lyle was one of the fan favorites during his prime. Despite failing to capture any championship gold he was able to win the hearts of many fans with his fighting style. Ron was known to be one of the hardest punching boxers of his era and among the three boxers to knockdown George Foreman in a fight.
George Foreman once revealed in an interview how it felt to be on the receiving end of a Ron Lyle’s punch. Big George said, “I got hit so hard but it’s like a blank feeling comes over you like and it doesn’t even hurt. You just start going down. That was the hardest I have been hit in my life. I got up… And after a while he hit me with another I was down again, Being hit so hard…Ron Lyle was one guy who hit you so hard it didn’t hurt…no one else did.”
Ron Lyle competed inside the ring without displaying any sign of fear. He made his professional boxing debut in 1971 and retired in 1995 competing in over 51 matches throughout his career. His 31 wins via knockout are proof of how hard he used to hit his opponent.
Despite all his talent he never managed to win the Heavyweight gold and the closest he came was against George Foreman in 1976 when he pushed Big George to his limits. The clash between the two boxers is considered one of the greatest bouts in the history of the sport and earned the fight of the year title for 1976.
Related: “Paid a big price”- George Foreman looks back at his iconic clash against Muhammad Ali
How did the win over Ron Lyle impact George Foreman’s Legacy?
George Foreman was undefeated in forty boxing fights before he came across Muhammad Ali. He lost his heavyweight championship to Ali in 1974 at “rumble in the jungle” which was one of the greatest moments of Muhammad Ali’s career. But for George Foreman it was the polar opposite, he lost more than his heavyweight gold. He lost his confidence and pride.
So when he won against Ron Lyle in 1976 after a grueling fight it was a moment of redemption for George. Speaking about the importance of his fight with Ron he said, “Other than my victory over Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight title, my redemption against Ron Lyle means more to me than all of them…After the Ali loss, I was a shell of myself.”
It took another 19 years to get hold of the Heavyweight title and despite that George Foreman rated his match against Ron much higher than his heavyweight win in 1994. George went on to compete till 1997 in over 81 fights winning 76 of the fights.
Continue Reading:
Stay Updated!
Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)