Well...he was already getting older for a boxer, so he had to try and make some big money.

Wow. That’s truly incredible. Great info. Thanks!!

Damn that’s un heard of in todays time if a heavy weight fought a fighter like George Foreman they would take a year hiatus off

All four of them arguably top 50 of all time.

That is one amazing 12 months. The level of respect Ron Lyle deserves is infinite

Id put this second, tua vs ibeabuchi first

That’s when you know you got to dig deep & when you reach that level, it’s last resort.

That point when you care about nothing but survival, and your crazy mode is activated.

Human survival instinct kicked in it's our body telling us to put the threat away

Tbf he was saved twice by the bell

@phillustrator actually Lyle was probably saved by the bell in the 2nd round since Foreman was about to take him out and they stopped the round at 2 minutes

Lol. That pretty much summed it up. As a boxing commentator, Cosell was definitely a boob.

GS, I surprised H. Cossel wasn't knocked out by Norton! Man did I ever get a laugh out of your comment!😝 You had me Rollin 😊😀😃😄😉.

Cosell sucked. He was one of the most obnoxious assholes ever to run his yap into a mic.

@@jayrowe6473 Big J I thought Howard was great in all the sports he comentated. You need a Webster's dictionary to understand him though...lol.

This was soo funny I swear

It is. One of my favorite fights, watched it live.

I'm just watching this for the first time.. Yes the war with hitman and hagler was epic .. BUT THIS fourth round is the total epic round.. Gee whizz!! :-0 Both were trying to take each others head completely off.. :-)

Hagler hearns was good too lol

My favorite fight by far!

Never Youmind lol, ever watch Fernando Vargas vs Tito Trinidad? Or erik Morales vs. Barrera? Mickey Ward vs Arturo gatti 3? They can all contend.....also honorable mention Diego corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo 1 was also another slobber knocker....

Dan Hunter Check our Larry Holmes Ken Norton it was comparable or maybe better

Holyfield - nowe, golota - bowe;) there was few;)

Ron had foreman,just had no finishing skills.

Check out tyson vs ruddock or bruno vs tyson or ken norton vs larry holmes or shavers vs lyle or bowe vs holyfeild

But the old foreman was more patient and smarter..thats how he beat an undefeated michael moorer.. ali said that foreman leraned science with age.. old foreman defeat young lyle

Truth!!

1 million percent correct

these heavyweights were lucky Tyson isn't in the same era

@@darisayendalusapi3988 foreman would kill Tyson.

Fore sure , George Foreman has got a heart of a lion he even defended his brother from a lion , example kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ldSoirx8ruDYhKc.html

the most 2 sided fight ever lol

Except Foreman had Lyle in trouble in the second round although it was only 2 and not 3 minutes. Foreman might have KO'd Lyle if the second round was actually 3 minutes.

Only Rocky 2 came close. Just kidding. Thus Foreman Lyle fight had more twists, turns and drama than any Holywood movie could ever have. Much respect to both fighters.

Its obvious that the winner of this fight will be the world heavyweight champion in 18 years.that's what your seeing and couldn't recognize it

Hagler V Hearns also

John Jones the 1980s had great heavy weights too

Tesfaye Williams and 90s

Kevin Anderson it was ok 90s

@@raheemwilliams5475 ?????The 80s was one of the weakest eras of heavyweights.

@@jrock9198 you're crazy as cat s*** the 1980s heavyweights and the 1980s in boxing was way better than the 90s and of today they had nothing but champions.

I think taking a lot of time off in between losing the belt and winning it back helped George's health today. And plus with his power his fights didn't last as long as other HWs in that era. He put a lot of guys away quickly and for the most part didn't get into wars like this. And the most important part last but not least....turning his life to the Lord!

@@FuShengAlex Jesus is good. Amen.

simple genetics.. I think he can thank his giant temporal muscles .. a bit like Marvin Hagler .. even though George is a much bigger man than marvin their head is configured in a similar way if one notices .. then of course I could be wrong ..

@@FuShengAlex Lol, taking a beating at 45 or however old he was at that point is 100% worse for your health than it woulda been had he taken say, a few months or a year or two off

George wins at Life !

But he Just punched himself out, not Taking any thing away from Muhammad cause I love them both.

Let alone took 15 hits from a prime holyfield and still kept coming forward

And one knockdown from Ron Lyle too...

@@kcnotjojo99 down not out

only once, and it was by the greatest -> Ali

+BiggieBigLnPac Gerry Cooney ron lyle and Cleveland Williams who faught Sonny liston pre clay

+BiggieBigLnPac He has said that about several of his opponents.

+BiggieBigLnPac Now this is a pure Toe-to-Toe 5-round Slugfest. No dancing around, no bullshit, just pure brawling!

imbluz that's what iam talking about .. pure brawl

+BiggieBigLnPac I though he said Cooney was the hardest puncher he faced

It's like you are watching it live at the moment it's so insane !!!

Agreed. To me there was some funny business going on in Zaire.

Lol. Ali has a lot of ring IQ, he would have figured out some other way to beat Foreman the second time. You forget the fact that Ali was 32 when he fought Foreman who was 26th. Ali was robbed of a few years of his prime.

Lol foreman never looked the same after ali knocked him out. His aura and psyche were broken. He couldn’t beat old, broken down ali. Imagine what prime ali would’ve done to him

@@stevecvino your right here, including the 100 crooks the president of Zaire had locked up under the stadium and shot the next day , they knew the truth some say , and I know what I think is the truth !!! Glad someone else noted something was off

And especially after watching Foreman destroy Frazier again--even worse than the first time--Ali would have as soon converted to Judaism as given George a rematch.

O günki halleri ile gelseler hepsini yenerler 70s 80s ağır sıklet boksun zirveleriydi, hatta 90s şampiyonları şimdiki herkesi yener tyson fury de buna dahil.

They can beat all boxers in today’s era

@@stephenisays2698 yeah fr fury would get smoked

Yeah. It seems they fight it even over knockdown. It`s really something not from this world. And technics, i think these gyus had it better than now

And Floyd got payed more then these action fights

Watch Mayweather gatti

You got 3 answers from mayweather fanatic fans. I think you are wrong mate. There is more action in Just round 4 and 5 than in all mayweathers career put together. I dont know what People See in mayweather. He is good in dodging punches and VERY good in dodging opponents that might be a threat to him. I would not want to See mayweathers fights for free, and People are playing So much money for it. Its the most overrated boxer of the era in my opinion.

@Andre McGoo dont speak do we get it, as you speak for all. His opinion is a pure fact. Nothing exciting about mayweather at all and I am not a hater, neither is the guy who wrote this statement. This fight is more exciting than the whole mayweathers career put together.

@dom com. And Dodge opponents who might be a threat.

Happens all the time… look it up

@@armando7257 not rlly mate

Pacquiao Marquez 1. Rarely happens tho

@@armando7257 Not like this.

It really could have gone either way

marc80s one of the best chins ever!!!

that 1st right hand that lyle nailed george with wouldve dropped a rhino!!

Ghostbusters3 The never give Foreman credit for his chin, Lyle was no powder puff, he could punch with the best of them, the fact that George got off the canvas TWICE tells you what kind of chin he had, Lyle blew his load after the second knockdown, he had nothing left, classic fight...

Tyson fans seem to overlook this, I've never seen mike do that in any bout he had.

100%

I feel you. He got laid down hard on that one.

16:51 - Formean has said the last right by Lyle that hit George flush in the face was the hardest punch he ever got hit by. He said it was so hard it didn't actually hurt, his whole body just vibrated and went numb as he collapsed to the canvas. That right by Lyle would have knocked out 99% of all fighters in history.

Foi salvo pelo gongo! Então o juiz não abriu a contagem!

Ya. Tyson is one of my all time favorites, but I remember he himself said he was good at knocking people out, but he wasn't a good fighter. Meaning he didn't do well when he encountered resistance.

Wym go watch tyson vs ruddock

Tyson was a victim of fame and fortune. He got so conceited and stopped training. Stopped listening to anyone who told him to work hard, stop doing coke, etc.. But I do agree that he wasn't as tough as Ali or Foreman. I laugh when I see him #1 on many all-time heavyweight lists. To me he just didn't have the longevity.

That's something almost no Tyson fan can ever admit. If someone was able to resist Tyson's barrage in the first couple rounds he couldn't hang in there and he could never take what he dished out. When the fighting got tough he was done. Foreman on the other hand had a hell of a jaw and like in this fight could take a beating and keep on fighting. That's an all time great in my book.

@@scottm8579 Most heavyweights are the "victim" of something. Lots are from terrible backgrounds, once they get money shitty people in their lives screw them over, but none of them get 1/2 the excuses made for them Tyson gets.

I guess foreman can last more than 4 rounds

@@Kingkodiakbear Lol.

I didn't know Ron and Ken had passed. Kind of makes me sad.

I don't think you can say underrated it won Ring magazine fight of the year, round of the year and KO of the year in 1976.

Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello (First fight) is right up there with those also.

Hagler v Mugabi 1986

Bowe-Holyfield 1-3

Foreman is just to amazing i love that guy

Never say never Holyfield and Tyson are thinking about coming back Who knows one my win the title more then twenty years later

@@bobber0623 i hope to see Iron mike back would be absolutely amazing!!

@@bobber0623 man get the fuck outta here. They never coming back.

In the same shorts he lost to Ali. George knew that night he is going to ko Moorer. Its no coincidence he put the same shorts that he put 20 years ago when he lost to Muhammad.

I was just thinking that!!! it's is the first fight I've ever seen like this!!! holy shit how is this never been promo'd!!!

Wow, yeah, never seen anything quite like this!

Sly found inspiration from Wepner vs Alì...

rocky is white, every black man would beat him

rocky whooped black dudes asses in his day..that being said, the newer generations might have given him trouble black or white

Great comment. This fight is without a doubt the best proof that these fights in Rocky weren't that unrealistic.

Lyle always had my respect...that was one badass dude...learned to box in prison, could hit a ton...feared no one, to beat him, you really had to take him out, or he would take you out with one punch....a real warrior...no one tried harder than Ron Lyle!

Me and you brother! Peace!

Ali had much better timing.

Nope, heavyweights can't move like that anymore..

I don't know man...I think Forman was saved by the Bell in that 4th round. Forman has said that Lyle could hit so hard you wouldn't feel it. I saw the Lyle vs Ali fight and most would agree that Lyle took the first 10 rounds until the 11th came up. I think the guy would gas in the later rounds. If it was a street fight...I think Lyle would have been higher up the food chain. I've seen Forman walk through Norton like he was a sack of potatoes.....and I've seen 3 fights of Norton vs Ali.. and if I'm honest ..I believe Norton won two of them. On any given day any one of these fighters back then could end a fight. Major props to Lyle ...the dude could hit.

AJ alright tho

+bmcart1 Yes Norton gave Ali he'll and had that crab style to nullify Ali's offense, but keep in mind Ali was WELL past his prime in those fights, much heavier and a lot slower....

KING KUMARI Did you hear that sound almost at the end of the first round when Ron hit Forman....Like an aluminum baseball bat hitting a ball dead center.....BOOM!... WHAT A FIGHT! but like you said King styles make fights and Ali never feared well when he fought Norton...out of those three fights I just believe Norton bested him in two of them. I love Ali but his style didn't match Norton,s that well. Ali should have given Forman another shot as well.

Anthony Joshua

Joshua is an excellent boxer man.. but trust me, he is nowhere near Lyle or foreman at least NOT YET

BombZquad

ministryOFmuff AJ is a good fighter but doesn’t punch as hard as foreman or Lyle

Noah Deontay Wilder

+John LaStrada Lyle came painfully close to beating him, really foreman only got saved by the bell at one point. If that had been just 30 seconds earlier he would be the winner. Outstanding old school fight. I wouldnt want to take a punch from either of these guys, they hit like mack trucks.

+John LaStrada I agree with you Lyle was a real tough hard punching fighter and would have been champion in another era..However,Foreman had been depressed and inactive for nearly 2 years after his shock defeat in Zaire and was nowhere near the monstous fighter here in 1976 that he had been prior to the Rumble in the Jungle when he pulverised Frazier and Ken Norton in less than 2 rounds.. What this fight really shows is how much heart Foreman had when not at his best...knocked down twice against a real hard puncher and clearly out of sorts, he somehow gets up to win..a sign of true greatness..you can compare this fight with Tyson v Buster Douglas..the difference being that Tyson also not at his best doesn't get up...

+Karl Hughes - Excellent assessment Karl. Very good. All plausible and logical. Respect your opinion because it makes sense.

cheers John..all the best

+John LaStrada Right on John.. lyle was the first that foreman faced that really went toe to toe sluggin with him and to be honest Foreman was never really the same after this fight.. Ron Lyle was nobody to F with at this time for sure..before this Lyles only loss was to Irish jerry Quarry who Foreman ducked admitted by the man himself

Roger CS unbelievably!!!

Jeez, that supplanted round 10 Bowe-Holyfield I as my choice for best heavyweight round ever.

foreman would've ko'd lyle in the second round, if it had been properly been 3 minutes, instead of the 2 minutes it actually was.

heart

The only time I have seen a fighter that got knocked down and landed face first get up to win the fight..

***** to be fair he was a pretty good commentator when it came to boxing, he knew what he was talking about most of the time, he and Ali practically made each other in the beginning, haha.

***** I prefer commentators that aren't afraid to talk the whole time, but at the same time nothing they say is irrelevant, they know what they are talking about

I just never cared for Howard Cosell....I didn't like him but I didn't dislike him......I could tolerate him...same with John Madden......sometimes those 2 could be a nuisance, though....Foreman-Lyle....great fight.......

I agree.

Cosell always said the stupidest shit. You will notice at one point in the fury of the fight, George is beating the shit out of Lyle and Lyle is about two seconds away from hitting the canvas...Cosell is saying, "OH George is in trouble!" when anyone could see that it was Lyle at that point that was in desperate trouble...

hell yea

+gsimon123 But then again, if Fireman hadn't lost to Ali he wouldn't have been rusty from time out of the ring, nor lost some of his terrifying aura. Anyway, he showed good heart in this fight, whereas v Ali he was bamboozled and exhausted.

gsimon123 he got back up in the Ali fight, despite having his water tampered with and his corner man paid off to give him the wrong advice. The ref called it 10 when he only counted 8, and the round was 2 seconds from being over. But George was too drugged by then to know what was going on.

Επαμεινωνδας Κοσμας from reading that absurd comment I can only assume that you're the one on drugs!

Adam Watson it's well documented that Foreman has been saying his water was doped going all the way back to 1975. And it's plain as day that Foreman was us just as the ref counted 8. I just need eyes for that. I hate to destroy your hero. But I'm a grown man and don't have time to worship other grown men. Pro sports, especially boxing, has been marked by organized crime since the beginning of gambling. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Crazy for sure!

The best stare down ever

There will never be fighters like this again

Call it what it is... but Cossell always told it like it was!

I was thinking the same thing.its almost like he is rubbing it norton's face but being causal about it

Howard Cosell sounds like a pompous ass hole. Didn't realize it when I was a kid. I caught that also. He is throwing it in his face. Norton ain't no punk he beat Ali.

I was just thinking " Howard is kinda disrespectful for constantly saying that." Haha

Kind of

It's more a compliment to George's power than an insult to ken Norton. In fact it's a compliment as hes saying he's so strong he could knock even the best out in round 2.

Nah thrills in manilla stays top

​@sorakazama7031 wasn't even the best Frazier vs Ali fight. The first was so much better

@@RogerYeahmon He was involved in a fight where someone was shot but to my knowledge there is no evidence that it was Lyle. Ron Lyle paid for his crime. Probably as an innocent. There are many politicians like Bush and Co. who sent thousands of people to their deaths without any consequences Because it's being swept under the carpet.

Ernie shavers was the hardest all the era fighters say that

@@discovegan5056 You beat me to it, Erik!!

Who will really know for sure? Ron Lyle, George Foreman, and Earnie Shavers are the hardest hitters in no particular order. I think I recall George Foreman also mentioning Gerry Cooney and Cleveland Williams in an interview but I don't know them as well.

@@GrubKiller436 Liston hit harder than George and Lyle, but he never tried to knockout ppl he would just box

He might have KO'd Lyle in the second round if it was actually 3 minutes ( and not merely 2 minutes'

He wouldnt even have landed on tyson

@@vlLEGTxSQUADX Foreman would have destroyed Tyson even when Foreman was old Tyson wanted no parts of Big George. Buster Douglas Ko'ed Tyson...Foreman only got Ko'ed once and that was Ali and it was more exhaustion than Ali's punches. Old Man Foreman was never knocked down in any of his fights ever...incredible chin something Tyson did not have at all.

@@maxgee8676 cause foreman never fought no big punchers tyson did amd foreman was dropped twice by ron lyle once by Jimmy young once by ali foreman couldn't even ko qwai who was a lhw and he even pushed a in shape old foreman across the ring

@@maxgee8676 tyson wanted all the smoke he never ducked ANYONE foreman never signed the dollar line and tysons torso was bigger than foremans so dont say that "to big excuse"

he wasnt nearly as slow as people think when he was in his prime. people only remember old fat overweight george

Holyfield said George's speed was deceptive..

ok mane

This fight probably would have been more memorable, right up there with Hagler V. Hearns if Lyle had a better rep. A great fight nonetheless.

***** I'm beginning to agree with the theory that it takes one great champion to inspire the development of younger fighters. Ali, like JOE LOUIS before him, was one of those figures. The heavyweight division has been in a slump since the Tyson days but the Middle and Welterweights have always been more energetic and popular. What has hurt the sport is the lack of FREE TV coverage. When Ali was active, many of his Title defenses were on nation wide television. These days just about every title defense is on Pay-Per-View and that can get pricey! Ali's "promos" were legendary and so were his fights; but people also had the chance to either cheer or jeer him. And if a fight was on "closed circuit", it would be broadcast on Free TV within a couple of weeks. These days, who is there? Maywether? Pacman? Great fighters but I think their popularity would have been double or triple what it is if we had seen their careers develop in our living rooms!

***** I'm not as well versed in the Fight Business so I can't say either way. I just know that The NFL, NBA and NASCAR are major sports and they don't resort to Pay Per Views! (Lord, help us if some nimrod ever proposes that the Super Bowl should be PPV!) TV ads pay the bills and if Pettis can go on a Wheaties box, I don't see why Pacman and Mayweather can't! I think both boxing and MMA need to stop drinking the PPV kool aid and go back to the basics. They could still use the PPV option for major Title bouts but they shouldn't be the norm!

LeAaron Youngblood Not the greatest boxing I've ever seen. Do either of these guys know how to avoid a punch? But, yes, a classic fight.

I tend to agree. Except here he got to talking (as he'd do, "vs. Kenny Norton, in Caracas, Venezuela in 1973..."), as already impressive action was taking place, and a shift occurred and missed entirely because of it that George had Lyle in trouble for a bit, lots of punches thrown between them, but George maybe about to take Lyle to the mat, THEN he goes nuts as it proceeds to happen, as if it came out of NOWHERE. Someone less verbose for this one would have an opportunity to call the incredible back and forth with the proper economy to have us all on our feet the whole while (well, the fight already did that, my bad). Nobody's perfect. He gets his Mulligan (smile).

@@nunya1738 Norton did a better job than Cosell did!

@@milojanis4901 Yes, when he was able to get a word in edgewise. And, not constantly being reminded of his loss to Foreman in Caracas.

lol How old were you ?

He wasn't rich?

I don't think he made much money during his career (at least not the millions that guys make today). Back then the purses were much smaller. He probably made some big money when he fought Ali for the title and fought Foreman, but outside of a few fights, I don't think he made a lot of money. Plus, he had some legal problems here and there. And him being an ex-con probably didn't help him find additional employment. I believe he went back to prison at one point as well (but I'm not sure about that). @@nellatl

LOL. The thought of you and your friend, as teens, being chased out of the casino by Ron Lyle, is just too mind blowing. It's pure absurdity, pure comic gold. I wish you had it on tape. I met one of Lyle's opponents, Jerry Quarry, a couple of times. I also saw the Quarry vs Lyle fight, with my dad, first fight I ever saw live. Several years later, I actually met Jerry, had a beer with him. He was an amazing dude. Great guy. But, you being chased by Lyle in a casino. That just made my day.

Thanks for friend info. He indeed blew the great Frazier up bad. Probably just considering basic blunt impact power, foreman may have hit harder then anyone. Max Baer matches that or is very close. Shavers, Tyson, Dempsey all had vicious power but it was a combination of hand speed which created the impact. Not as much blunt torque power that George, max and maybe Liston brought.

And Norton knew what a real fight was, he went through some crazy battles himself!

I might try to re-create that sound later…