Ron Lyle boxer

Ronald David Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight title, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. Lyle was known for his punching power, crowd-pleasing fighting style, as well as courage and determination inside the ring. He held notable wins over Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena, Jimmy Ellis, Vicente Rondón, Earnie Shavers, Joe Bugner, and Scott LeDoux, but is best known for his slugfest against George Foreman in 1976, which won Fight of the Year honors by The Ring magazine.Lyle was born the third of 19 children to William and Nellie Lyle of Dayton, Ohio. In 1954, they moved to Denver, Colorado as his father got a job as a sandblaster at Buckley Air Force Base. He grew up on the Northeast side of the city, a predominantly African American area, in public housing projects.During his time in Denver, Lyle was known to have associated with violent gangs. At 19, after dropping out of Manual High School, Lyle was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting to death of 21-year-old gang rival Douglas Byrd. Lyle argued he was being attacked with a lead pipe and was not the one who pulled the trigger.He was convicted for second-degree murder and sentenced to 15-to-25 years in the Colorado State Penitentiary. On December 16th 1978, Ron Lyle was acquitted his attorney Walter Gerash said that Ron shot Vernon Clark in self defense. In 1965, while in prison, Lyle nearly died on the operating table after being stabbed by an inmate, but Dr. Townsee didn't give up on him, Lyle underwent 36 blood transfusions and survived. After he underwent the operation, he was put into solitary confinement for 90 days, and as he was alone and there was nothing to do while recovering from the wound, he began doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and other exercises, after that he was training on a regular basis.While in prison, Lyle, then age 26, enlisted the African-American self-help group named Black Cultural Development Society (BCDS,) and coached the group's football team, The Wildcats, and led them to a championship among the inter-prison teams. He also played with the Canon City Rockbusters.